Jaymin McGuire/Supplied
Flooding hits Commerce Street in Whangārei, during Cyclone Gabrielle – now more heavy rain is forecast.
People who may be feeling anxious or triggered by a forecast of more heavy rain are being urged to know their facts and calmly prepare.
MetService has issued watches and warnings for the northern North Island where heavy rain and northeasterly gales are expected for 12 to 15 hours.
The stormy weather is first set to hit Northland, with a watch in place from 3pm on Thursday, Auckland from 9pm, Coromandel Peninsula from 11pm, Mt Taranaki from 1am Friday, and Bay of Plenty and Richmond from 3am Friday.
There is also a more serious heavy rain warning for Gisborne, north of Tolaga Bay, from 7am Friday, and Tasman, west of Motueka, for 36 hours from 1am Friday.
READ MORE:
* Heavy rain and gales set to hit upper North Island, with risk of thunderstorms
* When the rain falling is a trigger you can’t escape
* Cyclone Gabrielle officially ‘one of worst storms in NZ’s living history’
This week’s storm follows a list of catastrophic weather events that have hit the country this year, which include Cyclone Hale, the Auckland Anniversary floods, Cyclone Gabrielle, February’s Mangawhai floods and flooding which caused a state of emergency in Auckland just last week.
MetService meteorologist Peter Little said people who think there have been more storm events this year than normal are not mistaken.
Jason Dorday/Stuff
Intense flooding in Auckland in January caused Safunga and Seve Uatea’s house on Clover Dr to flood. There has barely been a reprieve in the weather since.
Auckland has had six heavy rain events so far this year – nearly five times the normal number for the first five months of the year, according to the number of warnings issued by MetService over the last 25 years, Little said.
Northland has had seven heavy rain events, 2.5 times the normal number in any January to May period. The data does not include watches, such as the watch on Northland and Auckland now, and May is not over yet, he said.
The number of events is also reflected in the total rainfall already recorded this year.
Nearly 1m of rain has been recorded at Auckland Airport this year – far more than any other year going back to 1964.
A total of 1411mm has been recorded in Whangārei – nearly a year’s worth of rain before the usually wet winter and spring have even hit.
Little said while a lot of the catchments are drenched, this particular system is moving veryquickly, reducing the expected amount of rain.
“There is still potential for flooding, and there still could be heavy downpours, we are certainly not expecting anything like the totals [seen previously] where there were hundreds of millimetres of rain.”
Civil Defence Northland spokesperson Zach Woods acknowledged some people maybe feeling stressed.
He urged them to arm themselves with information and plan for emergencies.
RNZ
Whangārei deputy mayor Phil Halse, a retired dairy farmer, explains why a forecast of more heavy rain is disappointing.
“The more that you know about the hazard, the more that you can prepare and the more that you can prepare, the less likely you are to panic.”
Preparing for this week’s storm could involve securing outdoor furniture and trampolines, clearing household gutters and reducing travel, he said.
Those in flood-prone houses could consider staying with other friends or family.
But Woods also urged households to have emergency plans in place should the worst happen – including having to evacuate or children having to stay at school because roads are impassable.
The Government’s Get Ready website has a lot of information to help whānau prepare, he said.
“The biggest anxiety is if you don’t know what to do and if something happens you’re scrambling,” he said.
“The best place to start is to sit down with your whānau, friends and wider network of people and have a plan.”
Woods also urged people to stay up-to-date with information, including in situations when MetService has issued a watch, which could be upgraded to a warning.
