A tornado in January tore down trees throughout Mangawhai. Photo: Peter de Graaf
The government has committed more than $400,000 towards the clean-up costs of January's Mangawhai tornado.
The twister struck the fast-growing town, about 100km north of Auckland, at 3am on 26 January.
It left two people seriously injured and damaged 35 homes, with some of those needing to be demolished.
During a visit to the worst-affected streets on 31 January, Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said it was remarkable no one had died, given the scale of the damage.
He also pledged government help to pay for the clean-up and emergency housing.
On Thursday, the Ministry for the Environment confirmed it would contribute up to $435,000 to Kaipara District Council's costs.
Mayor Craig Jepson said the council would use the funding to cover the cost of contractors who cleared roads for emergency services and residents, made fallen trees safe, and collected debris from affected areas.
It would also cover the cost of disposing of tornado-related waste at Hakaru Transfer Station.
"Unpredictable weather events like the tornado in Mangawhai can have a crippling financial impact on small councils like ours," Jepson said.
"We really appreciated having Northland MP Grant McCallum on the ground with us from the morning of the tornado and Mark Mitchell visiting affected residents later in the week. They witnessed the devastation first-hand and understood the scale, the amount of work required, and the support we needed."
A downed power pole on Moir Street, Managawai. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Jepson said he was "immensely proud" of the way the community had pulled together in the tornado's aftermath.
"So many Kaipara locals invested their hearts and souls, time and equipment into helping our affected residents. It's a relief that the financial burden for our recovery will not fall solely on the shoulders of ratepayers," he said.
Kaipara District Council recovery manager Glynis McCarthy estimated the cost of the clean-up would be well over $500,000, though the figure was still being finalised.
Some of those costs would be subsidised by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi as emergency recovery works.
Some costs would not be reimbursed by NZTA or the Ministry for the Environment, so the council was looking at ways of offsetting those.
For example, it was looking at a profit-sharing arrangement from the sale of mulch made from tornado-related green waste.
Meanwhile, the Mangawhai resident thought to have suffered the worst injuries in the tornado, Tina Johnson, is gradually recovering in hospital.
The 52-year-old was sucked out of her first-floor bedroom on Old Waipu Road and ended on her carport roof. She suffered severe injuries to one arm, including a compound fracture, and a leg.
According to the Northern Advocate, she has so far had five operations and multiple other procedures at three different hospitals.
She plans to move in with friends in Mangawhai once she is finally discharged.
Her home has since been demolished.
Tornado response and recovery by the numbers
- 6.8 tons of construction waste sorted and recycled in the immediate aftermath
- 48 tons of tornado-related household and construction waste received at Hakaru Transfer Station, including berm collections by contractors and delivered by residents during a free drop-off weekend
- 2500m3 of green waste collected and being mulched
- 272 homes visited by the New Zealand Red Cross Disaster Welfare and Support team
- 21 first responders from the NZ Response Team carried out welfare checks
- 125 volunteer hours by Taskforce Kiwi clearing waste
- 90+ building assessments carried out with help from Auckland Council staff
- 35 stickered properties, including eight yellow stickers restricting access
- Four households initially in emergency accommodation
- 497.75 hours of Kaipara District Council staff time dedicated to the emergency response
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