Tauranga has declared a state of emergency as Cyclone Vaianu approaches, with officials warning of coastal flooding, powerful swells and increasing risks to public safety.
Mayor Mahe Drysdale said the move would support response efforts as conditions worsen, with around 800 properties at risk of inundation and another 200 facing erosion across vulnerable coastal areas including Mt Maunganui and Pāpāmoa Beach.
Residents in low-lying areas are being urged to leave early if they feel unsafe, while authorities expressed concern that some people are ignoring closures and entering restricted zones.
Emergency officials stressed that restrictions are in place to protect lives, warning that unnecessary risks could endanger both the public and rescue crews, with the cyclone expected to hit late Saturday and peak around Sunday’s high tide.
Image credit: Alister Hitchcock
But first be sure to cut down as much colonial vegetation and cut down as many colonial trees around the place as you can because cultural appeasement of mauao is the most important thing here…
Only Tauranga?
Why Tauranga?
Covering your landslid incompetent/corrupt back-sides, as brown as the deadly soil killing 6 people?
Clearly trying to look good after there incompetence and potential cause of recent slips, its called arse covering.
Did any other center declare an emergency before getting hit ?