New Zealand Lashed by Storms, Roof Blown Across Suburb

Just a month after extreme weather conditions caused widespread disruption, New Zealand has been hit by a “train” of storms that have passed down the North Island, causing a night of heavy rain, thunderstorm warnings, and strong winds across much of the country.

Early on June 5, it was feared the Tauranga-Tāupo River would burst its banks when it reached its highest level since 1978, potentially flooding hundreds of homes.

Seventy families were evacuated as a precaution, but the river has now peaked, and authorities say the worst of that danger has passed.

However, parts of State Highway 1—the major road running from the top to the bottom of the country—have been affected by flooding, and hundreds of people across the North Island have been without power, which is slowly being restored.

Properties are still without power in parts of the central North Island, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and the Manawatū-Whanganui region.

In the north, MetService reported that up to 22 millimetres of rain fell between 6:00 p.m. on June 4 and 6:00 a.m. on June 5 in the Northland town of Kerikeri. Approximately 16 millimetres of rain was recorded in Auckland, and a similar amount fell in Whangarei.

Meanwhile, in the South Island, snow caused multiple road closures, with snowfall reaching sea level in Christchurch.

In the Wellington hillside suburb of Newlands, a house has been destroyed after wind lifted off its entire roof and deposited it in another street two blocks away at around 2:00 a.m.

The owner of a house on which much of the roof landed, Bingo Jayme, told RNZ he had initially struggled to understand what had happened as he searched his property by torchlight after being woken by a loud bang.

“I think somebody was watching over us up there, because if this landed in the middle of our bedroom, there’s a chance it would have, you know,” he said. “It was very loud, and it’s the entire roof all the way there.”

The damaged house had pieces of roofing timber sticking up into the air, and a council building inspector was called to inspect the property, which is currently uninhabitable.

Strong wind warnings or watches remain in place for several parts of the country, and there’s a snowfall warning covering the Milford region of the South Island.

MetService says more bad weather is on the way and has issued an Orange Heavy Snow Warning for Central Otago and Canterbury from June 6.