New Zealand: Three days of storms leave massive trail of damage and destruction
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Sep 19, 2010, 7:19:02 PM9/19/10
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Perilous Times and Climate Change
New Zealand: Three days of storms leave massive trail of damage and destruction
By JULIE ASH - The Dominion Post
Hundreds of North Island homes were still without power after three days of storms lashed the country, while snow-saturated Southland schools and businesses were contemplating closure.
Southland got the worst of the wintry blast, and emergency management teams were assessing buildings in Invercargill last night.
The roof of Wren's paint shop, in Yarrow St, caved in yesterday under the heavy snow.
The roof of the Windsor New World supermarket had also partially collapsed, and Farmers department store and The Warehouse both had sagging roofs, Civil Defence spokeswoman Adrienne Henderson said.
They followed the Saturday morning collapse of the $10 million Stadium Southland's roof, which sent dozens of tennis players running for their lives.
Jason Smith was standing outside the courts in the stadium when the doors in front of him were blasted open from the pressure and a piece of roofing flew by.
"It was like a big explosion and I remember seeing what looked like a panel off the roof fly past me a couple of metres away," he said.
"I thought it was a bit of an earthquake in the beginning and then realised nothing else was moving and just ran."
Keiran Fahy had just got out of the shower in the stadium when he heard a crack. "I heard this hell of a bang. I was drying myself and thought I better get my clothes on.
"I walked out [of the changing room] and looked to where the courts were and there was just light ... It would have been a disaster if everybody was in there."
With more snow expected, Invercargill City Council was asking schools and businesses to consider staying closed today.
In the North Island, more than 55,000 homes had their power supply cut during the weekend.
Last night there were still about 600 people in Wairarapa, Whanganui, Rangitikei, Bay of Plenty, South Waikato, and Taranaki waiting for their power to be restored.
Powerco Network Operations Manager Phil Marsh said more than 100 staff had worked through the weekend to replace broken poles, clear trees from lines and repair damage.
"We still have work to do and we'll continue until all customers are reconnected."
Federated Farmers Manawatu dairy chairman Robert Ervine said the storm had contributed to the wettest two weeks in the past decade.
New Zealand: Three days of storms leave massive trail of damage and destruction
By JULIE ASH - The Dominion Post
Hundreds of North Island homes were still without power after three days of storms lashed the country, while snow-saturated Southland schools and businesses were contemplating closure.
Southland got the worst of the wintry blast, and emergency management teams were assessing buildings in Invercargill last night.
The roof of Wren's paint shop, in Yarrow St, caved in yesterday under the heavy snow.
The roof of the Windsor New World supermarket had also partially collapsed, and Farmers department store and The Warehouse both had sagging roofs, Civil Defence spokeswoman Adrienne Henderson said.
They followed the Saturday morning collapse of the $10 million Stadium Southland's roof, which sent dozens of tennis players running for their lives.
Jason Smith was standing outside the courts in the stadium when the doors in front of him were blasted open from the pressure and a piece of roofing flew by.
"It was like a big explosion and I remember seeing what looked like a panel off the roof fly past me a couple of metres away," he said.
"I thought it was a bit of an earthquake in the beginning and then realised nothing else was moving and just ran."
Keiran Fahy had just got out of the shower in the stadium when he heard a crack. "I heard this hell of a bang. I was drying myself and thought I better get my clothes on.
"I walked out [of the changing room] and looked to where the courts were and there was just light ... It would have been a disaster if everybody was in there."
With more snow expected, Invercargill City Council was asking schools and businesses to consider staying closed today.
In the North Island, more than 55,000 homes had their power supply cut during the weekend.
Last night there were still about 600 people in Wairarapa, Whanganui, Rangitikei, Bay of Plenty, South Waikato, and Taranaki waiting for their power to be restored.
Powerco Network Operations Manager Phil Marsh said more than 100 staff had worked through the weekend to replace broken poles, clear trees from lines and repair damage.
"We still have work to do and we'll continue until all customers are reconnected."
Federated Farmers Manawatu dairy chairman Robert Ervine said the storm had contributed to the wettest two weeks in the past decade.
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