Wednesday 21 February 2018

"Ex-cyclone" Gita moves off New Zealand

Cyclone Gita could certainly have been a lot worse than it was. I disagree, however, that we 'dodged a bullet". Some parts of the country were badly affected and there are lessons to be learned.

The areas previously affected by earthquakes and extreme weather events (only 3 weeks ago) have been struck again.

REFLECTIONS ON ‘EX-CYCLONE”GITA

The media is going to great lengths to say this is an “ex-cyclone”. - all, designed to hide the unique nature of this phenomenon. Correct - sort of but designed to pull the wool over your eyes.

One significant point is that Gita tracked further south than any previous tropical cyclone. In fact further south than they predicted.

This comes with incredibly constantly-warm air- temperatures that have been much warmer than average. Not 1 or 2 degrees, as they say. That is yet another example of using science to hide the truth.

Not 12 hours after the cyclone hit us here we are back to warm temperatures. It was 23 degree at 9 am.

So, yes, it was a cyclone. No, it wasn’t a tropical cyclone. WE may need a new term - a SUB-TROPICAL cyclone. The sub-tropics seem to have moved far south.

There was a discussion on RNZ with someone listing all the extreme weather events. We had 1968 and 1978 didn’t we, so there’s nothing to see here, right?

What previously occurred every few years are now regular events. It is is only a few weeks since devastating events in Nelson and Buller.

The one sector that are not deniers is the insurance sector! They know.

We are moving into terra incognita and it is only going to get worse - and more quickly than anyone except for a few “nutters”, are willing to admit.

Gita rips up parts of the country on its way out


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Ex-tropical cyclone Gita moved off the country Wednesday morning, leaving destruction in its wake.
202mm of rain fell on Kaikōura in just 18 hours - which is 28 per cent of the town's annual rainfall.
Huge rainfalls were recorded in the Tasman district on Tuesday - Waingaro got 211.5mm, Takaka got 204.2mm, Motueka received 180.1mm, and Riwaka got 146.9mm.
State Highway 1 north of Wellington is down to one lane between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay.
States of emergency were declared in Taranaki, Nelson Tasman region, Selywn district, Buller, Westland and ChristchurchMetService has lifted a heavy rain warning for Buller.
A state of emergency for the Grey District has been lifted.
Road access to Kaikōura has been restored after the Inland Road, SH70, was re-opened this morning, NZTA says.
Takaka Hill road was closed by slips isolating about 6000 locals and tourists in Golden Bay.
Blockages have closed Arthurs Pass (SH63) in places.
Access to Westport re-established with SH6 re-opened
Winds of 140kmh have been recorded, including on the Rimutaka Range, Hawera, exposed areas of Wairarapa, and Buller. At Kelburn in Wellington winds peaked around 120kmh.
Thousands of people remain without power in Taranaki.
Good news for Christchurch: There are no reports of any properties in the city flooding above floor level.

Roads and bridges are damaged, houses flooded, communities cut off and tourists still trapped as Cyclone Gita leaves the country.

The Taranaki, Nelson Tasman, Grey and Selwyn councils still have a state of emergency in place to deal with widespread flooding and disruption.

Fire and Emergency said almost 500 people made emergency calls yesterday and through the night.

At least 5000 people in Golden Bay and Collingwood are cut off after heavy rain brought down slips, closing the road in three places on Takaka Hill and State Highway 1 into Kaikōura has been closed by slips.

Also in the South Island, Tourists are still trapped in south Westland after spending the night in their buses or in welfare centres after State Highway 6 was closed.

MetService said the very worst of the weather was likely over, and conditions were expected to ease as Gita moves away today.





West Coast: Dozens took shelter in local pub




Contractors are racing to shore up a stretch of SH1 north of Wellington as high tide threatens to undermine the road.

The remnants of ex-tropical Cyclone Gita hammered the Kapiti Coast late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, temporarily closing the seaside stretch of highway.


NZTA journey manager Neil Walker said the footpath and guardrail running along a 60-metre section between Paekākāriki to Pukerua Bay was already undermined, and there were fears the road could follow at 2pm when high tide hits.


Railway line near Clarence River on February 21, after ex-cyclone Gita made its way across the South Island.





The Taranaki, Nelson Tasman, Grey and Selwyn councils still have a state of emergency in place to deal with widespread flooding and disruption.

Fire and Emergency said almost 500 people made emergency calls yesterday and through the night.

At least 5000 people in Golden Bay and Collingwood are cut off after heavy rain brought down slips, closing the road in three places on Takaka Hill and State Highway 1 into Kaikōura has been closed by slips.

The Taranaki, Nelson Tasman, Grey and Selwyn councils still have a state of emergency in place to deal with widespread flooding and disruption.

Fire and Emergency said almost 500 people made emergency calls yesterday and through the night.

At least 5000 people in Golden Bay and Collingwood are cut off after heavy rain brought down slips, closing the road in three places on Takaka Hill and State Highway 1 into Kaikōura has been closed by slips.

Also in the South Island, Tourists are still trapped in south Westland after spending the night in their buses or in welfare centres after State Highway 6 was closed
.





Golden Bay is cut off after yesterday's storm, with major damage to the Takaka Hill Road, with officials considering evacuating the region by sea if it cannot be reopened quickly. Dairy farmers in the region are assessing the damage and trying to figure out how to get milk supplies away - some farms cannot be accessed after a bridge over the Kaituna river was severely damaged. Kathryn talks with Federated Farmers' Golden Bay President and Takaka dairy farmer Wayne Langford.



Meanwhile in Australia

TROPICAL Cyclone Kelvin battered Western Australia on Sunday with heavy rains, flood alerts and power shortages. But where is the raging weather front now?



Cyclone Kelvin was downgraded to ex-cyclone status by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology on Monday but several flood warnings are still in effect for Western Australia (WA).

A red alert was issued across WA as the storm pummelled the exposed coastal areas with wind gusts up to 250 kph.

Kelvin was last tracked southeast of Telfer, heading down a path that will take it in between Laverton and Warburton by Wednesday.

Latest satellite imagery captured at 2.20am AEDT (3.30pm GMT) shows a churning formation of clouds just south of the northwestern coast.




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