• About 4600 homes and businesses in Northland are still without power, down from a peak of more than 24,000.
• Most Northland roads are now open but motorists are advised to drive with extreme caution due to downed trees and branches.
• A damaged pipe in Paihia has led to a water conservation message in the Bay of Islands.
• MetService predicts continued wind and showers today, but some respite is expected over Easter.

Northlanders are beginning to clean up fallen trees and sodden properties as the rain and wind from Cyclone Tam begins to ease.

About 4600 homes and businesses in Northland are still without power, down from a peak of more than 24,000 on Thursday.

Northpower - the lines company for Whangārei and Kaipara - said it still has around 2800 customers without power but crews are making steady progress.

A helicopter is helping locate faults as repair work continues today, with crews coming up from Hamilton to help.

Top Energy is reporting 28 different faults in the Far North today, impacting more than 1800 homes and businesses.

It has crews from Hawke’s Bay joining the restoration response today.

Both companies are urging people without power to be patient, as repairs in isolated areas could still take days.

Northpower chief executive Andrew McLeod said the lack of wind and rain today will help the restoration process.

Paihia road closure, water restrictions

State Highway 11 at Paihia - also known as Marsden Rd - remains closed due to coastal inundation which has undermined the road and the services underneath it.

Northland MP Grant McCallum said the storm damage is unacceptable both for tourism businesses and local residents and an urgent solution is needed to stop the ongoing closures.

Motorists are able to pass through Paihia with a small detour.

Far North District Council is urging all residents and businesses in Paihia, Waitangi and Ōpua to conserve water for the next 24 hours while a water main, exposed by the high waves, is repaired.

In other areas, roads and highways are beginning to reopen as the flooding subsides.

State Highway 1 at Hōreke, just south of the Mangamukas, reopened at 8.40pm on Thursday, after being closed for most of the day by flooding.

At about 10am on Thursday, the floodwaters trapped a man and his Mini, who was rescued by Fire and Emergency crews and police, said Northland group manager Graeme Quensell.

Police also helped rescue a person who fell down the riverbank on Princes Rd in Ruakākā at about 5.30pm on Thursday. The person was found uninjured and given a lift home.

The Mini trapped in floodwaters on Rangiahua Bridge, SH1 in Hōreke. Photo / Joe Marshall

The fragile Mangamuka Gorge south of Kaitāia and Brynderwyn Hills south of Whangārei have both stood up to the weather.

Kaipara District Council is reporting road closures at Monteith Rd, Oparakau Rd and Waimatenui East Rd this morning, while caution is also needed on Sandy Beach Rd and Service Lane 4 Hokianga Rd.

The roads are expected to be open by the end of the day.

In Whangārei district, Finlayson Brook Rd is closed due to a number of underslips making the road unsafe.

There are also a number of partial closures due to flooding, with the roads open only to high-sides four-wheel-drives.

They are Russell Rd near Punaruku, Waiotu Block Rd and Otonga-Marua Rd.

Whangārei District Council also urges extreme caution for motorists driving in the area, as other roads may also be impacted by the storm.

Far North District Council was last night reporting five road closures due to flooding: Horeke Rd, Iwitaua Rd, Okaka Rd, Pukepoto Rd (Okaihau) and Waikare Rd - although they were likely to reopen as the flooding subsided.

Greenacres Drive was also closed by a fallen tree.

Whangārei resident Andy Mayhew says this tree fell on his Kauri driveway yesterday, cutting power, which was restored in the middle of the night. Photo / Andrew Mayhew

Mobile coverage returning as power restored

Cyclone Tam impacted cellphone reception in places across Northland on Thursday but that is being restored as power is restored to the cellphone towers, said Telecommunications Forum chief executive Paul Brislen.

No cellphone towers were damaged by the weather but many ran out of battery back-up due to the long periods of extended power outages, he said.

On Friday, there were still 25 cellphone towers down in Northland at midday, from about 1000 towers across the region.

Brislen said Top Energy was prioritising power restoration to the towers and mobile generators were being taken to other sites.

One NZ said thousands of text messages were sent during the storm on its Satellite TXT service, a backup service which it enabled for the northern North Island yesterday during the cyclone recovery.

Weather: Respite is forecast

The rain and wind from Cyclone Tam will linger in Northland but respite is on the horizon, says MetService.

Meteorologist Lewis Ferris said today’s weather lacks the intensity seen in the past two days.

The strongest wind gusts hit Northland at 155km/h and were recorded in Cape Rēinga at 2am yesterday.

A Northpower line worker clears a tree from a power line on Hatea Drive, Whangārei. Photo / Mike Dinsdale

On the Beaufort Wind Scale, 155km/h is hurricane strength and the highest category on that scale.

Even more sheltered areas experienced severe gusts, such as Whangārei reaching 96km/h.

The most drenched district was the Far North. Kaikohe recorded the highest rainfall – 117mm in the 24 hours up to 4pm on Thursday.

Ferris said rainfall of more than 100mm in 24 hours met the weather forecaster’s warning criteria.

Next in line was Kāeo with 91.2mm of rain for the same period, Whangārei with 85.3mm, Kerikeri with 72.8mm and Kaitāia with 56.8mm.

Floodwater near Umawera. Photo/ Matthew Davison

Readings from the Northland Regional Council’s rain data shows rainfall totals over the last seven days are high, such as 260mm at Whakakpara and 237mm at Glenbervie.

Ferris said there would still be some wind around Northland today.

A northerly breeze was expected as well as some heavier showers and thunderstorms intensifying this afternoon.

“The likely reality is that it is not going to affect everyone,” Ferris said.

“People just need to be aware, even if the day is broadly better than it has been.”

Ferris offered a glimmer of hope for weather-beaten Northland this Easter.

“There will be periods of wet weather through the weekend but also some gaps. If you’re heading out the door, take a jacket.”

Firefighters had responded to more than 120 weather-related callouts since midnight on Wednesday.

Most were trees and power lines that had toppled on to roads, but two were trees on houses.

Graeme Quensell, Fire and Emergency NZ group manager for Northland, said crews yesterday helped a Paihia family secure their belongings after the roof on their Panorama Ave house was blown off by high winds.