NZ Historic Weather Events Catalogue
April 1999 New Zealand Snow and Marine Inundation
(
1999-04-16
)
50-60 years
A combination of gale force south-westerlies, high rainfall, low air pressure and high tides produced sea flooding on the upper North Island's west coast. Snow, high winds and thunderstorms were also experienced in parts of the North Island and southern South Island. A boy was drowned near Dargaville and a woman was killed in a car accident on a snow-covered road near Wairouru.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
Duration: 3 days - From the 16th to the 18th of April.
A broad and deepening trough was preceded by strong north-westerly flows and followed by colder south-westerlies. A major front occurred within the trough. A pool of cold air associated with a CVA (Cyclonic Vorticity Advection) maximum behind this front moved onto Southland, bringing heavy snow. It also brought gale force winds over the North Island, contributing to sea flooding along the west coast.
Temperatures plummeted throughout the country.
High Wind / Gust
Strong winds brought down trees and power lines.
Snow / Ice
Snow closed roads.
North Island
Multi Hazard
at
North Island
A combination of gale force south-westerlies, heavy rain, low air pressure and high tides produced sea flooding along the west coast of the North Island from Waikato through to Northland.
There were nine road fatalies in the North Island, most of them weather-related.
High Wind / Gust
Westerly gales brought down trees.
High winds brought down power lines, cutting power.
South Island
Snow / Ice
at
South Island
The storm brought snow close to sea level in the south of the South Island.
Heavy snowfalls to low levels closed South Island roads on the 17th.
Northland
Flooding
at
Awakino Point
A 20-month-old boy was drowned the 18th on the after he was caught in a stormwater drain at his home in Awakino East Point Road. The drain was more than 1m deep due to the flooding.
Heavy Rain
at
Dargaville
The Dargaville area received only 10 mm (1.0 cm) of rain on the 17th.
Flooding
A combination of high rainfall in the Dargaville catchment, low pressure, strong south-westerly winds and a spring tide on the 17th resulted in severe flooding from the Wairoa River in the township and surrounding farmland.
Dargaville homes and businesses were inundated. A number of homes in Mangawhare were flooded. Up to 40 shops and other businesses were flooded and some houses were only saved by intensive sandbagging. The flood waters went right through the Central Hotel and and Northern Wairoa Hotel.
Some roads around the sea were temporarily closed. Pouto Road was impassable until after the high tide at 1:06pm. Police and fire fighters had to undertake traffic control in some central Dargaville streets. Roads were badly damaged.
The floods were up to about 1.5 m deep. Shops on the main road had up to 75 cm of water through them.
The chief fire officer said the floods were worse than those of Cyclone Bola in 1988.
A considerable amount of damage was done to shops and houses. Shops and businesses had carpets soaked and stocks ruined.
Thousands of dollars of damage was done to the Central Hotel.
The Kauri Holiday Shoppe had several centimetres of water spread over the floor.
The flood waters rose so rapidly that tractors were submerged in paddocks.
Many kumara farms and market gardens were inundated. Crates of harvested kumara were swept away and all Dargaville's kumara crops that were still in the ground were presumed destroyed. The soil conditions were also damaged for future planting.
About a fifth, or 3000 tonnes, of kumara was still in the ground, worth about $4 million ($5,180,000 2008 dollars).
An Aoroa market garden had water covering 12 acres of courgettes, an acre of cucumbers, 1/2 acre of beans and nine acres of kumara. The courgettes were ready to harvest and were worth about $40,000 ($51,800 2008 dollars).
The flood caused some businesses to close for a few days and several had to close for over a fortnight.
It was a 50-60 year flood.
Everyone invloved was surprised by the extent and rapidity of the flooding.
The banks of the Wairoa River in Dargaville had been sandbagged in preparation for the spring tide on the evening of the 17th, but the winds pushed water up the river, causing the water to breach stopbanks.
One farmer waded in water up to his arm pits on his farm.
The Dargaville volunteer firebrigade had about 14 flood-related call-outs over the weekend, from 12:30pm on the 17th to 2am on the 18th.
The flood waters had receded by mid-afternoon on the 17th. On the 18th, flood waters from the Wairoa River came back up to within 5 cm of the retaining wall by the band rotunda.
Flood waters formed a lake around a Hoanga Road house and left a layer of stinking mud when they receded.
Maritime / Coastal
The Dargaville area had a 0.4-metre spring tide on the 17th.
The high tide was 4.4 m.
High Wind / Gust
Trees were blown down.
Multi Hazard
The barometric pressure dropped to 997 hPa on the morning of the 17th.
The power and telephones went down for a time.
Insurance Industry Payouts for the Dargaville floods totalled $1,700,000 ($2,201,000 2008 dollars).
Maritime / Coastal
at
Kaipara Harbour
Storm-tide levels in the Kaipara Harbour on the 17th exacerbated the flooding in Dargarville.
It was a combined perigen-spring tide of 1.62 m above the mean sea level. The total storm surge was 0.5m above the predicted tide and was exteme over just one tidal cycle.
Multi Hazard
The barometric pressure was 988.9 hPa.
Flooding
at
Kellys Bay
Reports of flooding first came in from the Te Kopuru and Kellys Bay areas.
Kellys Bay was cut off by flood waters.
Flooding
at
Ruawai
Some farms at Ruawai were submerged by salt water. One farm still had paddocks under water almost a week later. Pastures were damaged and feed lost.
Flooding
at
Te Kopuru
Reports of flooding first came in from the Te Kopuru and Kellys Bay areas.
Flooding
at
Tokatoka
Logs blocked State Highway 12 at Tokatoka across three-quarters of th road.
A seal was washed up on the highway at Tokatoka.
Auckland
Maritime / Coastal
at
Auckland
Properties were flooded in parts of Manukau Harbour, with water lapping around houses.
Stormwater drains overflowed in parts of Manukau, spilling small amounts of sewage on to about 15 properties.
Multi Hazard
Temperatures plunged to 10 degrees on the afternoon of the 17th.
High Wind / Gust
Winds gusted up to 66 km/hr in Auckland.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Huia
Several houses at Huia were flooded on the afternoon of the 17th. A Huia resident said a wall of water hit her fence "like a tidal wave" early on the 18th, but sandbags helped to prevent water getting in the house.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Little Huia
The road to Little Huia was cut for most traffic.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Onehunga
Water covered roads in low-lying parts of Onehunga.
Waikato
Lightning
at
Waikato
Thunderstorms and lightning were experienced in the Waikato.
Lightning
at
Hamilton
Early morning storms left much of Hamilton without power on the 17th. Power was cut to hundreds of houses in Nawton and Dinsdale just after 8am when lightning struck a power feeder.
High Wind / Gust
Trees were sent crashing onto houses.
Heavy Rain
Roads became slippery.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Raglan
In Raglan, the wind and rain whipped waves high enough to breach sea walls on the 17th.
Some outbuildings were inundated.
One man had water so deep on his front lawn thst he cast a fishing line from the deck of his home.
At a house in low-lying Lorenzen Bay, four high tides inundated a sleepout and garage and carried off timber stockpiled for home renovations. The water ruined carpets, a computer, videos and school books in the outside room. The water spread under neighbouring houses and lapped at their steps.
At the same property, sewage was washed from pipes across the lawn.
The highest tide was at about 10:30am on the 17th.
Locals agreed the tides were the worst in about 40 years.
Electricity was cut to Lorenzen Bay for about 12 hours on the 17th after water blew fuses the in underground network.
A footbridge across the estuary from the town to the camping ground was impassable when the camp went under water. Wainui Road was also closed for some of the day. Tarseal on Puriri Street was damaged by flooding.
Outside the harbour, the swells were 4-5 m high.
High Wind / Gust
A power pole was blown down in Manukau Road.
Winds gusted up to 70 knots (130 km/hr).
Lightning
at
Tokoroa
Lightning killed a number of cows in Tokoroa.
Manawatu-Wanganui
Snow / Ice
at
Desert Road
The Desert Road was closed by snow overnight on the 17th, and other roads were perilous.
The was snow 5 cm deep on the road.
Landslide
at
Manawatu Gorge
Heavy rain caused slips in the Manawatu Gorge.
Snow / Ice
at
Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu had 15 cm of snow.
Snow / Ice
at
Waiouru
Waiouru had a minimum temperature of -1 degC on the 17th - the North Island's coldest temperature.
On the 17th there were five accidents in two hours as motorists failed to drive to the road conditions.
A woman died after her car and another collided on the snow-covered State Highway 1, 8 km south of Waiouru, at 2:30pm on the 17th.
Wellington
High Wind / Gust
at
Wellington
North-westerly gales disrupted flights.
Trees were damaged by the winds.
Lightning
at
Upper Hutt
Thunderstorms caused power cuts in Upper Hutt overnight.
Canterbury
Multi Hazard
at
Banks Peninsula
Snow and hail fell on Banks Peninsula.
High Wind / Gust
at
Christchurch
Northwest gales in Christchurch preceded a cold change.
Trees were felled by the gales.
Snow / Ice
Snow fell on the Port Hills for the first time in April since 1994.
Otago
Snow / Ice
at
Otago
Snow made the northern motorway treacherous.
Snow / Ice
at
Dunedin
Snow fell in hill suburbs.
Southland
Snow / Ice
at
Southland
Roads were closed.
Power cuts were experienced.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Dog Island
At Dog Island, there was 0.507 m of storm surge on the 16th.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Bluff
On the 16th, the sea level at Bluff rose to 1.83 m above mean sea level. This was the highest level recorded in Bluff Harbour.
The predicted high tide was 3 m or slightly less, meaning there was at least 0.44 m of storm surge at the Port (a 3.1 m predicted tide equates to 1.49 m above mean sea level).
Maritime / Coastal
at
Invercargill
At 1:40pm on the 16th, the Invercargill estuary at the Stead Street Bridge recorded a level of 2.13 m. This had an annual return period of 1.8 years.
Snow / Ice
at
Te Anau
Te Anau Basin received its biggest snowfall for years.
References
- Bell, R.G; Gorman, R.M. (2003). Overview of Weather and Coastal Hazards in the Northland Region. Part II: Coastal.
- Bradley, D. (2002). Storm surge and marine inundation. Environment Southland, Invercargill.
- Headline: Heavy rain batters North Island.
- The Chronicle, 19 April 1999.
- Insurance Councils, The Cost of Weather Loses, Claims History (Updated 2004).
- Major weather events in New Zealand, Floods and High Rainfall, Floods to 30 Sept 2005.
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 77, June 1999.
- www.metservice, notable weather events.govt.nz
- Headline: Cat-astrophe averted.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Dargaville fire brigade run off feet.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Festivity taken out of Kumara Festival.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Town flood 'impossible to predict'.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Ex-mayor floats wooden flood plan.
- The Northern Advocate, 26 April 1999.
- Headline: Dargaville floods claim toddler's life.
- The Northern Advocate, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Firefighters fight floods.
- The Northland Times, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Flood victims fear salt is hidden killer.
- The Northland Times, 26 April 1999.
- Headline: Floodbusters ready with extra sandbags.
- The Northland Times, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Only 225 days to summer.
- The Northland Times, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Caring councillors flood to victims.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Devastated Guy loses $40,000 in just one day.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Flood creates 'Highway to hell'.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Flooding is such a bad business.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Kumara bill could grow to $4 million.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Kumara price to double: Grower problems begin to flood in.
- The Northland Times, 21 April 1999.
- Headline: Insurance firms brace for huge damage claims.
- The Northland Times, 21 April 1999.
- Headline: Motorists run into deep trouble.
- The Northland Times, 21 April 1999.
- Headline: 10 killed in horrific weekend on roads.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 19 April, 1999.
- Headline: Flooding could hit more often.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 19 April, 1999.
- Headline: Raglan saturated as wind-whipped tides lap at doors.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 19 April, 1999, 12:00am.
- Headline: Mayor: lets think about higher ground.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 27 September, 1999.
April 1999 New Zealand Snow and Marine Inundation
(
1999-04-16
)
50-60 years
A combination of gale force south-westerlies, high rainfall, low air pressure and high tides produced sea flooding on the upper North Island's west coast. Snow, high winds and thunderstorms were also experienced in parts of the North Island and southern South Island. A boy was drowned near Dargaville and a woman was killed in a car accident on a snow-covered road near Wairouru.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
Duration: 3 days - From the 16th to the 18th of April.
A broad and deepening trough was preceded by strong north-westerly flows and followed by colder south-westerlies. A major front occurred within the trough. A pool of cold air associated with a CVA (Cyclonic Vorticity Advection) maximum behind this front moved onto Southland, bringing heavy snow. It also brought gale force winds over the North Island, contributing to sea flooding along the west coast.
Temperatures plummeted throughout the country.
High Wind / Gust
Strong winds brought down trees and power lines.
Snow / Ice
Snow closed roads.
North Island
Multi Hazard
at
North Island
A combination of gale force south-westerlies, heavy rain, low air pressure and high tides produced sea flooding along the west coast of the North Island from Waikato through to Northland.
There were nine road fatalies in the North Island, most of them weather-related.
High Wind / Gust
Westerly gales brought down trees.
High winds brought down power lines, cutting power.
South Island
Snow / Ice
at
South Island
The storm brought snow close to sea level in the south of the South Island.
Heavy snowfalls to low levels closed South Island roads on the 17th.
Northland
Flooding
at
Awakino Point
A 20-month-old boy was drowned the 18th on the after he was caught in a stormwater drain at his home in Awakino East Point Road. The drain was more than 1m deep due to the flooding.
Heavy Rain
at
Dargaville
The Dargaville area received only 10 mm (1.0 cm) of rain on the 17th.
Flooding
A combination of high rainfall in the Dargaville catchment, low pressure, strong south-westerly winds and a spring tide on the 17th resulted in severe flooding from the Wairoa River in the township and surrounding farmland.
Dargaville homes and businesses were inundated. A number of homes in Mangawhare were flooded. Up to 40 shops and other businesses were flooded and some houses were only saved by intensive sandbagging. The flood waters went right through the Central Hotel and and Northern Wairoa Hotel.
Some roads around the sea were temporarily closed. Pouto Road was impassable until after the high tide at 1:06pm. Police and fire fighters had to undertake traffic control in some central Dargaville streets. Roads were badly damaged.
The floods were up to about 1.5 m deep. Shops on the main road had up to 75 cm of water through them.
The chief fire officer said the floods were worse than those of Cyclone Bola in 1988.
A considerable amount of damage was done to shops and houses. Shops and businesses had carpets soaked and stocks ruined.
Thousands of dollars of damage was done to the Central Hotel.
The Kauri Holiday Shoppe had several centimetres of water spread over the floor.
The flood waters rose so rapidly that tractors were submerged in paddocks.
Many kumara farms and market gardens were inundated. Crates of harvested kumara were swept away and all Dargaville's kumara crops that were still in the ground were presumed destroyed. The soil conditions were also damaged for future planting.
About a fifth, or 3000 tonnes, of kumara was still in the ground, worth about $4 million ($5,180,000 2008 dollars).
An Aoroa market garden had water covering 12 acres of courgettes, an acre of cucumbers, 1/2 acre of beans and nine acres of kumara. The courgettes were ready to harvest and were worth about $40,000 ($51,800 2008 dollars).
The flood caused some businesses to close for a few days and several had to close for over a fortnight.
It was a 50-60 year flood.
Everyone invloved was surprised by the extent and rapidity of the flooding.
The banks of the Wairoa River in Dargaville had been sandbagged in preparation for the spring tide on the evening of the 17th, but the winds pushed water up the river, causing the water to breach stopbanks.
One farmer waded in water up to his arm pits on his farm.
The Dargaville volunteer firebrigade had about 14 flood-related call-outs over the weekend, from 12:30pm on the 17th to 2am on the 18th.
The flood waters had receded by mid-afternoon on the 17th. On the 18th, flood waters from the Wairoa River came back up to within 5 cm of the retaining wall by the band rotunda.
Flood waters formed a lake around a Hoanga Road house and left a layer of stinking mud when they receded.
Maritime / Coastal
The Dargaville area had a 0.4-metre spring tide on the 17th.
The high tide was 4.4 m.
High Wind / Gust
Trees were blown down.
Multi Hazard
The barometric pressure dropped to 997 hPa on the morning of the 17th.
The power and telephones went down for a time.
Insurance Industry Payouts for the Dargaville floods totalled $1,700,000 ($2,201,000 2008 dollars).
Maritime / Coastal
at
Kaipara Harbour
Storm-tide levels in the Kaipara Harbour on the 17th exacerbated the flooding in Dargarville.
It was a combined perigen-spring tide of 1.62 m above the mean sea level. The total storm surge was 0.5m above the predicted tide and was exteme over just one tidal cycle.
Multi Hazard
The barometric pressure was 988.9 hPa.
Flooding
at
Kellys Bay
Reports of flooding first came in from the Te Kopuru and Kellys Bay areas.
Kellys Bay was cut off by flood waters.
Flooding
at
Ruawai
Some farms at Ruawai were submerged by salt water. One farm still had paddocks under water almost a week later. Pastures were damaged and feed lost.
Flooding
at
Te Kopuru
Reports of flooding first came in from the Te Kopuru and Kellys Bay areas.
Flooding
at
Tokatoka
Logs blocked State Highway 12 at Tokatoka across three-quarters of th road.
A seal was washed up on the highway at Tokatoka.
Auckland
Maritime / Coastal
at
Auckland
Properties were flooded in parts of Manukau Harbour, with water lapping around houses.
Stormwater drains overflowed in parts of Manukau, spilling small amounts of sewage on to about 15 properties.
Multi Hazard
Temperatures plunged to 10 degrees on the afternoon of the 17th.
High Wind / Gust
Winds gusted up to 66 km/hr in Auckland.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Huia
Several houses at Huia were flooded on the afternoon of the 17th. A Huia resident said a wall of water hit her fence "like a tidal wave" early on the 18th, but sandbags helped to prevent water getting in the house.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Little Huia
The road to Little Huia was cut for most traffic.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Onehunga
Water covered roads in low-lying parts of Onehunga.
Waikato
Lightning
at
Waikato
Thunderstorms and lightning were experienced in the Waikato.
Lightning
at
Hamilton
Early morning storms left much of Hamilton without power on the 17th. Power was cut to hundreds of houses in Nawton and Dinsdale just after 8am when lightning struck a power feeder.
High Wind / Gust
Trees were sent crashing onto houses.
Heavy Rain
Roads became slippery.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Raglan
In Raglan, the wind and rain whipped waves high enough to breach sea walls on the 17th.
Some outbuildings were inundated.
One man had water so deep on his front lawn thst he cast a fishing line from the deck of his home.
At a house in low-lying Lorenzen Bay, four high tides inundated a sleepout and garage and carried off timber stockpiled for home renovations. The water ruined carpets, a computer, videos and school books in the outside room. The water spread under neighbouring houses and lapped at their steps.
At the same property, sewage was washed from pipes across the lawn.
The highest tide was at about 10:30am on the 17th.
Locals agreed the tides were the worst in about 40 years.
Electricity was cut to Lorenzen Bay for about 12 hours on the 17th after water blew fuses the in underground network.
A footbridge across the estuary from the town to the camping ground was impassable when the camp went under water. Wainui Road was also closed for some of the day. Tarseal on Puriri Street was damaged by flooding.
Outside the harbour, the swells were 4-5 m high.
High Wind / Gust
A power pole was blown down in Manukau Road.
Winds gusted up to 70 knots (130 km/hr).
Lightning
at
Tokoroa
Lightning killed a number of cows in Tokoroa.
Manawatu-Wanganui
Snow / Ice
at
Desert Road
The Desert Road was closed by snow overnight on the 17th, and other roads were perilous.
The was snow 5 cm deep on the road.
Landslide
at
Manawatu Gorge
Heavy rain caused slips in the Manawatu Gorge.
Snow / Ice
at
Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu had 15 cm of snow.
Snow / Ice
at
Waiouru
Waiouru had a minimum temperature of -1 degC on the 17th - the North Island's coldest temperature.
On the 17th there were five accidents in two hours as motorists failed to drive to the road conditions.
A woman died after her car and another collided on the snow-covered State Highway 1, 8 km south of Waiouru, at 2:30pm on the 17th.
Wellington
High Wind / Gust
at
Wellington
North-westerly gales disrupted flights.
Trees were damaged by the winds.
Lightning
at
Upper Hutt
Thunderstorms caused power cuts in Upper Hutt overnight.
Canterbury
Multi Hazard
at
Banks Peninsula
Snow and hail fell on Banks Peninsula.
High Wind / Gust
at
Christchurch
Northwest gales in Christchurch preceded a cold change.
Trees were felled by the gales.
Snow / Ice
Snow fell on the Port Hills for the first time in April since 1994.
Otago
Snow / Ice
at
Otago
Snow made the northern motorway treacherous.
Snow / Ice
at
Dunedin
Snow fell in hill suburbs.
Southland
Snow / Ice
at
Southland
Roads were closed.
Power cuts were experienced.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Dog Island
At Dog Island, there was 0.507 m of storm surge on the 16th.
Maritime / Coastal
at
Bluff
On the 16th, the sea level at Bluff rose to 1.83 m above mean sea level. This was the highest level recorded in Bluff Harbour.
The predicted high tide was 3 m or slightly less, meaning there was at least 0.44 m of storm surge at the Port (a 3.1 m predicted tide equates to 1.49 m above mean sea level).
Maritime / Coastal
at
Invercargill
At 1:40pm on the 16th, the Invercargill estuary at the Stead Street Bridge recorded a level of 2.13 m. This had an annual return period of 1.8 years.
Snow / Ice
at
Te Anau
Te Anau Basin received its biggest snowfall for years.
References
- Bell, R.G; Gorman, R.M. (2003). Overview of Weather and Coastal Hazards in the Northland Region. Part II: Coastal.
- Bradley, D. (2002). Storm surge and marine inundation. Environment Southland, Invercargill.
- Headline: Heavy rain batters North Island.
- The Chronicle, 19 April 1999.
- Insurance Councils, The Cost of Weather Loses, Claims History (Updated 2004).
- Major weather events in New Zealand, Floods and High Rainfall, Floods to 30 Sept 2005.
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 77, June 1999.
- www.metservice, notable weather events.govt.nz
- Headline: Cat-astrophe averted.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Dargaville fire brigade run off feet.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Festivity taken out of Kumara Festival.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Town flood 'impossible to predict'.
- The Northern Advocate, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Ex-mayor floats wooden flood plan.
- The Northern Advocate, 26 April 1999.
- Headline: Dargaville floods claim toddler's life.
- The Northern Advocate, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Firefighters fight floods.
- The Northland Times, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Flood victims fear salt is hidden killer.
- The Northland Times, 26 April 1999.
- Headline: Floodbusters ready with extra sandbags.
- The Northland Times, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Only 225 days to summer.
- The Northland Times, 19 April 1999.
- Headline: Caring councillors flood to victims.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Devastated Guy loses $40,000 in just one day.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Flood creates 'Highway to hell'.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Flooding is such a bad business.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Kumara bill could grow to $4 million.
- The Northland Times, 20 April 1999.
- Headline: Kumara price to double: Grower problems begin to flood in.
- The Northland Times, 21 April 1999.
- Headline: Insurance firms brace for huge damage claims.
- The Northland Times, 21 April 1999.
- Headline: Motorists run into deep trouble.
- The Northland Times, 21 April 1999.
- Headline: 10 killed in horrific weekend on roads.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 19 April, 1999.
- Headline: Flooding could hit more often.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 19 April, 1999.
- Headline: Raglan saturated as wind-whipped tides lap at doors.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 19 April, 1999, 12:00am.
- Headline: Mayor: lets think about higher ground.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, 27 September, 1999.