NZ Historic Weather Events Catalogue
April-May 1999 Northland and Bay of Plenty Flooding
(
1999-04-30
)
30 years
Extreme rain fall brought extensive flooding to parts of Northland and the Bay of Plenty. People were evacuated in Northland and a CDE was declared for the Rotorua District. There was also some flooding and electrical storms in Auckland, where one person was injured when a lightning strike blew a phone out of his hand.
North Island
Multi Hazard
at
North Island
Duration: 3 days - From 30th April to 2nd May.
A large low (994 hPa) in the Tasman Sea moved east to cross northern New Zealand on the 2nd. The frontal system was preceded by a very moist, unstable north-easterly flow. The low crossed slowly over Northland, then Bay of Plenty, bringing bursts of torrential rain and thunderstorms. Heavy rain developed in a convergence zone between the north-easterly and northnorth-west flow behind the front. Fairly strong upper-level divergence lay over the area in a diffluent region ahead of the short wave trough and south of the subtropical jet. Air was potentially unstable, and shears in the middle layer of the atmosphere were low. Rear-feeder cumulonimbus clouds were most active over Rotorua as new cells formed over Tauranga. The slow-moving nature of the front was a factor in large rainfalls.
Periods of sub-tropical downpours hit northern districts, causing flash flooding.
Insurance Industry Payouts for the Whangarei and Rotorua Floods totalled $2,100,000 ($2,700,000 2008 dollars).
Northland
Flooding
at
Northland
The worst hit areas in Northland were Whangarei and Hikurangi.
Homes and properties were flooded on the 30th.
Schools were closed.
Multi Hazard
At least 25 Far North roads were closed or affected by surface flooding or slips. They were expected to cost thousands of dollars to repair.
Flooding
at
Hihi
Flooding afffected roads in Hihi.
Flooding
at
Hikurangi
People were evacuated in Hikurangi.
Schools, including Hikurangi Primary, closed early.
Flooding
at
Kaeo
Flooding afffected roads in Kaeo.
Heavy Rain
at
Kaikohe
Kaikohe recorded 47.6 mm (4.8 cm) of rain in 24 hours.
Flooding
at
Mangakahia River
Flooding afffected roads in Mangakahia.
Heavy Rain
at
Ohaeawai
Ohaeawai recorded 104 mm (10.4 cm) of rain just after 10am on the 30th.
Flooding
at
Omanaia
Flooding afffected roads in Omanaia.
Flooding
at
Oruaiti
Oruaiti school closed after buses could not get through flooded roads.
Flooding
at
Peria
Flooding afffected roads in Peria.
Heavy Rain
at
Puhipuhi
Puhipuhi recorded 122 mm (12.2 cm) of rain in 3.5 hours on the 30th.
Heavy Rain
at
Purerua
Purerua recorded 53.6 mm (5.4 cm) of rain in 24 hours.
Flooding
at
Russell
Flooding afffected roads in Russell.
Flooding
at
Taipa
Taipa school closed after buses could not get through flooded roads.
Flooding
at
Waihou Valley
Flooding afffected roads in Waihou Valley.
Flooding
at
Waimate North
Flooding afffected roads in Waimate North.
Heavy Rain
at
Whangarei
Whangarei recorded 41.4 mm (4.1 cm) of rain in 24 hours.
Whangarei recorded 120 mm (12.0 cm) of rain in 3.5 hours on the 30th. This was a month's worth of rain.
Whangarei received more than 100 mm (10.0 cm) of rain in one hour.
Flooding
Schools closed early. A number of secondary schools were closed by the flooding.
Buisnesses closed early.
Streams became raging torrents, and overloaded and rain-swollen stormwater systems spilled into low-lying areas.
Businesses and homes were flooded. Several shops in city and parts of Whangarei Girls High School were flooded when stormwater drains overflowed. The damage included sodden carpets, water-logged and swelling doors and leaking roofs.
About 30 houses were evacuated.
In some areas, parked cars were engulfed by flood waters up to their roofs.
The Whangarei Fire Service attended 86 flood-related calls. The Fire Service had every vehicle in its fleet on the road, with 50-60 calls within a couple of hours.
Some roads closed. Flooding temporarily closed Western Hills Drive. Surface flooding closed State Highway 1 in a number of places, including Spring Flat.
Water supplies were cut to Otangarei and parts of Kamo for two hours.
About 30 people were rescued from their homes.
Sewage overflowed in the central city.
Flooding
at
Whangaroa
Flooding afffected roads in Whangaroa.
Auckland
Multi Hazard
at
Auckland
Severe lightning, thunderstorms and surface flooding were experienced in parts of Auckland.
The heavy rain and intense electrical activity were the result of unstable air much closer to centre of the low. Bands of thunderstorms near the centre crossed Auckland, bringing short periods of high intensity rain and lightning strikes.
Roads were blocked by slips and water north of the city.
Heavy Rain
The thunderstorms produced localised downpours.
Flooding
Parts of North Shore, Henderson and Mangere had surface flooding overnight on the 30th.
Homes were flooded. Firefighters were called pump out 60 flooded basements.
Lightning
at
Auckland International Airport
Lightning knocked out Auckland airport's automatic weather station.
Flooding
at
Orewa
There was flooding across State Highway 1 at Orewa.
Lightning
at
Papatoetoe
A bolt of lightning struck a concrete street pole on Victory Road, Papatoetoe, at around 9:30pm on the 1st. The charge shook houses, pictures fell off walls and any electrical devices plugged in were blown up, including televisions, videos and phones. The small street suffered thousands of dollars of damage, with almost every one of the 23 houses on the street having electrical devices ruined.
The lightning bolt was estimated at up to 100 million volts.
Almost all of the houses on Victory Road lost power.
A man was left with a numb arm after the phone he was using exploded and flew out of his hand.
Landslide
at
Warkworth
A slip occurred on State Highway 1 just north of Warkworth.
Bay of Plenty
Multi Hazard
at
Bay of Plenty
A Civil Defence Emergency was delcared for the Rotorua District at 11:47am on the 1st and lasted until 4:09pm on the 1st.
There was a small number of self evacuations.
Flooding
In Western Bay of Plenty there was heavy surface flooding. Several minor roads were closed.
Homes in Western Bay of Plenty were threatened by flood waters.
Residents were advised to boil water before drinking, as flooding had discoloured water supplies.
Landslide
Parts of the Tauranga to Rotorua highway (State Highway 36) were affected by slips.
Heavy Rain
at
Kaimai Range
The Kaimai foothills recorded 139 mm (13.9 cm) of rain in 24 hours on the 30th.
Heavy Rain
at
Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua received 192 mm (19.2 cm) of rain in about 12 hours.
Landslide
The rain caused slips and subsidence on the hills behind Lake Rotorua.
Flooding
at
Raprapahoe Stream
Flood waters damaged a bridge over the Raparapahoe Stream.
Heavy Rain
at
Rotorua
Extremely heavy rainfall deluged Rotorua on the 1st. The rainfall event had ARI well over 100 years.
Rotorua recorded 214 mm (21.4 cm) of rain in 24 hours on the 1st (Return Period 80 years).
Rotorua recorded 169 mm (16.9 cm) of rain in five hours on the 1st (Return Period more than 150 years).
Rotorua recorded 47 mm (4.7 cm) of rain in one hour on the 1st (Return Period 35 years).
Flooding
Low-lying areas of the city were flooded on the 1st. More than 50 houses and some industrial buildings were flooded.
Some buildings were under 1 m or more of water.
Drains and gutters clogged with autumn leaves failed to cope with the deluge.
Surface flooding was 1.5 m deep in places.
The floods were thought to be the worst in 30 years.
Rotorua Airport was closed.
The water level dropped rapidly after the rain abated around mid-afternoon.
Multi Hazard
Slips and washouts occurred on roads around the lake.
The Rotorua (Fletcher) Marathon was cancelled for the first time ever.
It was the first local civil defence emergency called in Rotorua.
Heavy Rain
at
Tauranga
The Tauranga district also suffered excessive rainfall overnight on 30th April/1st May.
Flooding
at
Te Puke
Te Puke was the worst hit by flooding, after Rotorua had started to dry out.
A portion of State Highway 2 near Te Puke was closed for nearly two hours on the evening of the 1st as water gushed across the road.
Extensive shallow flooding covered an estimated 300 ha of low-lying plains on either side of the Te Puke township, making farmland look like lakes.
References
- Headline: 30 rescued after homes flooded out.
- The Bay of Plenty Times, 3 May 1999.
- Headline: Deluge twists rail lines, closes highway.
- The Bay of Plenty Times, 3 May 1999.
- Insurance Councils. The Cost of Weather Loses, Claims History (Updated 2004).
- MCDEM, 2002.
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 77, June 1999.
- www.metservice, notable weather events.govt.nz.
- Headline: Downpours bring flash floods to Northland.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Lightning bolt wreaks havoc.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Buoyancy to fore in flood-hit Rotorua.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 3 May 1999.
- Headline: Lightning bolt wreaks havoc.
- The New Zealand Herald, 4 May 1999.
- New Zealand Meteorological Service. (2008). Meteorology of Extreme Rainfalls in New Zealand (Mark Pascoe, Ed.).
- Headline: Far North roads affected.
- The Northern Advocate, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Whangarei awash in flash flooding.
- The Northern Advocate, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Insurance companies flooded with calls.
- The Northern Advocate, 2 May 1999.
April-May 1999 Northland and Bay of Plenty Flooding
(
1999-04-30
)
30 years
Extreme rain fall brought extensive flooding to parts of Northland and the Bay of Plenty. People were evacuated in Northland and a CDE was declared for the Rotorua District. There was also some flooding and electrical storms in Auckland, where one person was injured when a lightning strike blew a phone out of his hand.
North Island
Multi Hazard
at
North Island
Duration: 3 days - From 30th April to 2nd May.
A large low (994 hPa) in the Tasman Sea moved east to cross northern New Zealand on the 2nd. The frontal system was preceded by a very moist, unstable north-easterly flow. The low crossed slowly over Northland, then Bay of Plenty, bringing bursts of torrential rain and thunderstorms. Heavy rain developed in a convergence zone between the north-easterly and northnorth-west flow behind the front. Fairly strong upper-level divergence lay over the area in a diffluent region ahead of the short wave trough and south of the subtropical jet. Air was potentially unstable, and shears in the middle layer of the atmosphere were low. Rear-feeder cumulonimbus clouds were most active over Rotorua as new cells formed over Tauranga. The slow-moving nature of the front was a factor in large rainfalls.
Periods of sub-tropical downpours hit northern districts, causing flash flooding.
Insurance Industry Payouts for the Whangarei and Rotorua Floods totalled $2,100,000 ($2,700,000 2008 dollars).
Northland
Flooding
at
Northland
The worst hit areas in Northland were Whangarei and Hikurangi.
Homes and properties were flooded on the 30th.
Schools were closed.
Multi Hazard
At least 25 Far North roads were closed or affected by surface flooding or slips. They were expected to cost thousands of dollars to repair.
Flooding
at
Hihi
Flooding afffected roads in Hihi.
Flooding
at
Hikurangi
People were evacuated in Hikurangi.
Schools, including Hikurangi Primary, closed early.
Flooding
at
Kaeo
Flooding afffected roads in Kaeo.
Heavy Rain
at
Kaikohe
Kaikohe recorded 47.6 mm (4.8 cm) of rain in 24 hours.
Flooding
at
Mangakahia River
Flooding afffected roads in Mangakahia.
Heavy Rain
at
Ohaeawai
Ohaeawai recorded 104 mm (10.4 cm) of rain just after 10am on the 30th.
Flooding
at
Omanaia
Flooding afffected roads in Omanaia.
Flooding
at
Oruaiti
Oruaiti school closed after buses could not get through flooded roads.
Flooding
at
Peria
Flooding afffected roads in Peria.
Heavy Rain
at
Puhipuhi
Puhipuhi recorded 122 mm (12.2 cm) of rain in 3.5 hours on the 30th.
Heavy Rain
at
Purerua
Purerua recorded 53.6 mm (5.4 cm) of rain in 24 hours.
Flooding
at
Russell
Flooding afffected roads in Russell.
Flooding
at
Taipa
Taipa school closed after buses could not get through flooded roads.
Flooding
at
Waihou Valley
Flooding afffected roads in Waihou Valley.
Flooding
at
Waimate North
Flooding afffected roads in Waimate North.
Heavy Rain
at
Whangarei
Whangarei recorded 41.4 mm (4.1 cm) of rain in 24 hours.
Whangarei recorded 120 mm (12.0 cm) of rain in 3.5 hours on the 30th. This was a month's worth of rain.
Whangarei received more than 100 mm (10.0 cm) of rain in one hour.
Flooding
Schools closed early. A number of secondary schools were closed by the flooding.
Buisnesses closed early.
Streams became raging torrents, and overloaded and rain-swollen stormwater systems spilled into low-lying areas.
Businesses and homes were flooded. Several shops in city and parts of Whangarei Girls High School were flooded when stormwater drains overflowed. The damage included sodden carpets, water-logged and swelling doors and leaking roofs.
About 30 houses were evacuated.
In some areas, parked cars were engulfed by flood waters up to their roofs.
The Whangarei Fire Service attended 86 flood-related calls. The Fire Service had every vehicle in its fleet on the road, with 50-60 calls within a couple of hours.
Some roads closed. Flooding temporarily closed Western Hills Drive. Surface flooding closed State Highway 1 in a number of places, including Spring Flat.
Water supplies were cut to Otangarei and parts of Kamo for two hours.
About 30 people were rescued from their homes.
Sewage overflowed in the central city.
Flooding
at
Whangaroa
Flooding afffected roads in Whangaroa.
Auckland
Multi Hazard
at
Auckland
Severe lightning, thunderstorms and surface flooding were experienced in parts of Auckland.
The heavy rain and intense electrical activity were the result of unstable air much closer to centre of the low. Bands of thunderstorms near the centre crossed Auckland, bringing short periods of high intensity rain and lightning strikes.
Roads were blocked by slips and water north of the city.
Heavy Rain
The thunderstorms produced localised downpours.
Flooding
Parts of North Shore, Henderson and Mangere had surface flooding overnight on the 30th.
Homes were flooded. Firefighters were called pump out 60 flooded basements.
Lightning
at
Auckland International Airport
Lightning knocked out Auckland airport's automatic weather station.
Flooding
at
Orewa
There was flooding across State Highway 1 at Orewa.
Lightning
at
Papatoetoe
A bolt of lightning struck a concrete street pole on Victory Road, Papatoetoe, at around 9:30pm on the 1st. The charge shook houses, pictures fell off walls and any electrical devices plugged in were blown up, including televisions, videos and phones. The small street suffered thousands of dollars of damage, with almost every one of the 23 houses on the street having electrical devices ruined.
The lightning bolt was estimated at up to 100 million volts.
Almost all of the houses on Victory Road lost power.
A man was left with a numb arm after the phone he was using exploded and flew out of his hand.
Landslide
at
Warkworth
A slip occurred on State Highway 1 just north of Warkworth.
Bay of Plenty
Multi Hazard
at
Bay of Plenty
A Civil Defence Emergency was delcared for the Rotorua District at 11:47am on the 1st and lasted until 4:09pm on the 1st.
There was a small number of self evacuations.
Flooding
In Western Bay of Plenty there was heavy surface flooding. Several minor roads were closed.
Homes in Western Bay of Plenty were threatened by flood waters.
Residents were advised to boil water before drinking, as flooding had discoloured water supplies.
Landslide
Parts of the Tauranga to Rotorua highway (State Highway 36) were affected by slips.
Heavy Rain
at
Kaimai Range
The Kaimai foothills recorded 139 mm (13.9 cm) of rain in 24 hours on the 30th.
Heavy Rain
at
Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua received 192 mm (19.2 cm) of rain in about 12 hours.
Landslide
The rain caused slips and subsidence on the hills behind Lake Rotorua.
Flooding
at
Raprapahoe Stream
Flood waters damaged a bridge over the Raparapahoe Stream.
Heavy Rain
at
Rotorua
Extremely heavy rainfall deluged Rotorua on the 1st. The rainfall event had ARI well over 100 years.
Rotorua recorded 214 mm (21.4 cm) of rain in 24 hours on the 1st (Return Period 80 years).
Rotorua recorded 169 mm (16.9 cm) of rain in five hours on the 1st (Return Period more than 150 years).
Rotorua recorded 47 mm (4.7 cm) of rain in one hour on the 1st (Return Period 35 years).
Flooding
Low-lying areas of the city were flooded on the 1st. More than 50 houses and some industrial buildings were flooded.
Some buildings were under 1 m or more of water.
Drains and gutters clogged with autumn leaves failed to cope with the deluge.
Surface flooding was 1.5 m deep in places.
The floods were thought to be the worst in 30 years.
Rotorua Airport was closed.
The water level dropped rapidly after the rain abated around mid-afternoon.
Multi Hazard
Slips and washouts occurred on roads around the lake.
The Rotorua (Fletcher) Marathon was cancelled for the first time ever.
It was the first local civil defence emergency called in Rotorua.
Heavy Rain
at
Tauranga
The Tauranga district also suffered excessive rainfall overnight on 30th April/1st May.
Flooding
at
Te Puke
Te Puke was the worst hit by flooding, after Rotorua had started to dry out.
A portion of State Highway 2 near Te Puke was closed for nearly two hours on the evening of the 1st as water gushed across the road.
Extensive shallow flooding covered an estimated 300 ha of low-lying plains on either side of the Te Puke township, making farmland look like lakes.
References
- Headline: 30 rescued after homes flooded out.
- The Bay of Plenty Times, 3 May 1999.
- Headline: Deluge twists rail lines, closes highway.
- The Bay of Plenty Times, 3 May 1999.
- Insurance Councils. The Cost of Weather Loses, Claims History (Updated 2004).
- MCDEM, 2002.
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 77, June 1999.
- www.metservice, notable weather events.govt.nz.
- Headline: Downpours bring flash floods to Northland.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Lightning bolt wreaks havoc.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Buoyancy to fore in flood-hit Rotorua.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 3 May 1999.
- Headline: Lightning bolt wreaks havoc.
- The New Zealand Herald, 4 May 1999.
- New Zealand Meteorological Service. (2008). Meteorology of Extreme Rainfalls in New Zealand (Mark Pascoe, Ed.).
- Headline: Far North roads affected.
- The Northern Advocate, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Whangarei awash in flash flooding.
- The Northern Advocate, 1 May 1999.
- Headline: Insurance companies flooded with calls.
- The Northern Advocate, 2 May 1999.