2023 has been a tough year weather-wise.
January saw record-breaking rainfall across much of the North Island of New Zealand, with more than 260mm of rain falling on south and west Auckland in just 24 hours. In the far north, wind-speeds of up to 140kph were recorded. Four people were killed in flash floods and landslides and hundred of homes were destroyed.
But that was just the start…
10 days after the Auckland deluge, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported that Tropical Low 14U had developed within a monsoonal trough of low pressure over the northeastern Coral Sea near the Solomon Islands. By the early evening of the 9th of February, the storm intensified and soon became a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, designated: Gabrielle.
We had approximately 48 hours to prepare for the worst. Here’s what we did:-
- Went to work with a chainsaw on trees near the house and topped/trimmed the heavier branches where possible.
- With no sandbags available, we filled heavy-duty rubbish bags with loose dirt from the roadside paddock, squeezed most of the air out and tied the necks with gaffer tape, then stacked them against potential flood points around the house. Not as good as sandbags but they did OK.
NOTE: For future use, I’ve ordered some self-inflating sandbags - A few heavy duty tarps were rolled into tight tubes, gaffer taped and placed in areas around the buildings that were not protected by bags and held down with 20L plastic buckets filled with dirt and lidded. Wouldn’t stop serious flooding but might help divert lower water levels away from the house, reducing seepage.
- Anything too big to pull indoors was covered with heavy duty tarps, strapped down with plenty of bungy cords and weighed down with spare paving slabs/breeze blocks and a few old tyres.
- Lifted everything off the floor in the garage and shed that was in cardboard boxes and/or transferred into 100L heavy duty plastic fishing tubs, available at any DIY or camping/fishing store.
- Pulled all the outdoor/garden furniture into the shed. Large items like tables were left in place, but turned upside down and stacked against the house wall to prevent them being tossed around.
- Turned over the generator and dug out a suitable extension cord. It would only power the fridge but that’s something.
- Went through the freezer and cooked up enough food to see us right for 4-5 days. If the power goes out we could just munch our way through it, reducing food losses (plus it meant no cooking for a few days…even if the power stayed on)
- Checked stocks of canned and dry food. bought several packs of dried fruit (rock melon…yum!), nuts and chocolate – all quick energy and high protein.
- Made sure we had sufficient drinking water for a week, based on 2-3L per person, per day. Swung by the local camping/outdoor shop and picked up 2 20L water containers with taps and a couple of packets of water purifying tablets.
- Whipped down to the nearest ATM and withdrew $500 in cash. If the power goes out, then the plastic is useless!
- Made sure all devices such as laptops and mobile phones were full charged. Got a USB backup charger too.
- Put new batteries in torches and charged up head lamps and portable lanterns.
- Dug out a self-winding radio, cranked it up and tuned to RNZ.
- Got the butane-powered camping stove out and tested to make sure it was working properly and fuel was plentiful.
- Filled the tanks of all vehicles. If we have to evacuate, we might have to travel some way. If not, storm damage could prevent tankers refilling station pumps, so best to top up those tanks.
- First aid kit was located and it’s contents checked.
- Checked my mum had sufficient prescription medicines to see her right for at least a week.
- Made sure our Grab-and-go bags were handy.
The cyclone made landfall in the upper north island on the 12th of February, lashing Northland and Auckland. Within a day 8 people were dead, more than 1000 unaccounted for/missing, almost 225,000 homes were without power and heavy rain caused landslides and serious flooding as the cyclone progressed. Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne and the Hawkes bay were all hit very hard. Flood waters washed forestry slash into gorges and rivers, where it quickly dammed waterways until the sheer mass of water carried the slash downhill, destroying anything in it’s path.
By some miracle, we were spared the worst, with only minor damage and – incredibly – no loss of power or water.
Even though the preparations we made were (fortunately) not needed this time, I intend to use this as a checklist when it happens again.
…which it will.
In pictures: Cyclone Gabrielle aftermath
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