Road users urged to take caution

Although weather conditions have improved Auckland Civil Defence is asking drivers to take extra care on the roads with localised thunderstorms and rain expected between 3pm and 7pm.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is urging people to travel during daylight hours if they are going away for Easter. Slips and debris may be common on roads which will be dangerous at night.

Flooding along Tamaki Drive and in eastern bays communities has subsided with outgoing tides. Tamaki Drive has been reopened and Civil Defence and other council staff are assessing the damage to approximately eleven properties which were impacted by the flooding.

Localised power outages are still affecting the region. As of 2pm approximately 17,000 properties were still affected.

NZ Fire Service has responded to approximately 340 weather-related calls across Auckland.

High tide is forecast for 9.12pm tonight. The flooding that occurred at Tamaki Drive and in eastern bay communities this morning was due to very strong northeast winds driving the sea onshore. Wind conditions are easing in Auckland this afternoon and no flooding is expected at high tide tonight.

Contractors and emergency services continue work to clear fallen trees and other debris.

Auckland Civil Defence is monitoring the weather situation and advises people to keep up to date with severe weather warnings and forecasts from MetService.

• People should stay off the roads if possible.
• Power and phone services may be disrupted. We recommend you have a torch and a battery-powered radio so you can listen to weather alerts.

On the road drivers are urged to exercise caution:
• Headlights on.
• Drive to the conditions.
• Keep a safe distance from the car in front.

For more information:
To keep updated, follow Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management on Facebook and Twitter @AucklandCDEM.

If you have a smartphone, please download the Auckland Civil Defence app to receive instant updates. Go to www.aucklandcivildefence.org.nz/Alerting/Get-the-Applications.

To keep up to date with outages, download Vector’s Outage Manager App from iTunes or Google Play. Go to http://www.vector.co.nz/outages. To download Counties Power’s App, go to http://www.countiespower.co.nz/.

Visit www.getthru.govt.nz for detailed information on what to do, before, during and after a storm.

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