Since we returned from a holiday in Australia just before New Year, the north island of New Zealand has copped 3 biblical-sized storms causing widespread flooding, damage from landslides and sadly, loss of life. Australia's east coast has been similarly affected in previous years. The La Nina weather phenomenon has added to the problem by channeling "atmospheric rivers" of moisture from the already-warm oceans in the tropics to our shores.
We live on the Coromandel Peninsula east of Auckland. It has a relatively small population and is noted for its natural beauty with stunning beaches and an inland mountain range. The 200-odd km long road which runs along the edge of the peninsula, State Highway 25; is also known as the Coro Loop. It's a paradise for motorcyclists - twisty and technical.
The Coromandel Peninsula
As well as flooding, the Coromandel roads are also subject to landslides and we've been cut off from the rest of the north island for a day or two each time a big storm hits. A few years ago, it was for 2 weeks. The storm a few days ago wreaked absolute havoc on both Auckland and Coromandel. From memory, about 300mm of rain fell in the Coromandel area during the first week of February, breaking all kinds of records.
The most serious road damage was to the road at the southern end of the peninsula which essentially runs west-east between Kopu and Hikuai, south of Tairua. It also happens to be the main route for both commercial traffic and the public needing access to and from the eastern seaboard. Here's a photo of the damage - the whole hillside has slipped into the valley. Deciding how to repair or divert the road is not going to have an easy solution and will take months at the very least. The significantly longer, slow alternative access route will carry a heavy economic and social cost.
State Highway 25A - Coromandel Peninsula (NZTA)
The landslide on SH 25A gets bigger (NZTA)
Although I rode this road regularly on my motorcycle, we don't need to travel on it to get off the peninsula, using the western coast road to Thames instead. This is where everything recently turned to custard!
The western road runs along the shoreline of the Firth of Thames with the mountains rising directly from the road edge in many places. We regularly get small slips in wet weather but they normally don't have a major impact. This time, it was a beauty at Ruamahanga Bay which cut us off for several days. Here are the photos and a video link showing part of the landslide. The traffic was a bit close to it for my liking!
Landslide blocking the Thames-Coromandel Coast Road
(Snapper Express Fishing Charters)
Clearing the debris (press photo)
Rockfall live (NZ Herald)
The cleanup crews did a fantastic job which is just as well as we had to pick up my sister in law at Auckland airport. The only alternative route via the east of the peninsula would have stretched the travel time from 2.5 hours to 4.5 hours!
Our property is on a hill overlooking Coromandel Harbour. We're safe from flooding but there's probably a small risk of us sliding into the harbour as part of a landslide. In the coming years but hopefully not in our lifetime, we stand a good chance of being cut off from the village because the causeway leading to the property isn't much above sea level. Coastal erosion is a world wide issue. Sadly, there aren't any strong indications of urgency by any of the world governments in taking the tough but necessary steps to address the matter. It's a bitter enough pill to swallow for my generation but the future impact on our kids and grandkids doesn't bear contemplating. Let's hope that they have a better focus on ensuring a good future for mankind than our current leaders do.
Oh, and watch this space...... there's another tropical cyclone brewing in the South Pacific which might drift down this way in about a week. In the meantime, we'll look forward to a few days of sun!
