Cyclone Gabrielle: 13 Feb 11am update

Vector media update 13 Feb 11AM
 
Cyclone Gabrielle continues to batter the electricity network in the Auckland region and crews are putting in a huge effort to restore power, where this can be done safely.
 
As of 10.30am, 16,000 homes and businesses were without power, mainly in the region north of Orewa. Thousands more have been restored and the number of outages will continue to fluctuate as we get power back on in some areas, only for more outages to occur.
 
The strong winds mean that at times our crews have had to stop aerial work, involving equipment such as buckety trucks, because it is too dangerous.
 
In some areas we are finding multiple faults on the same line, which slows down the restoration process, and we are facing access issues in some rural areas. Near Warkworth, for example, we need to organise an excavator to reach an area where four poles have been damaged and our trucks are unable to get close.
 
The recent flooding in the Auckland area brings its own challenges, with a greater likelihood of trees falling on power lines and poles being affected by movement in the sodden, unstable land.
 
We know it’s extremely difficult to be without power, especially when it is out for extended periods of time, but please be assured that we are doing everything we safely can to help. We encourage anyone with welfare needs to contact Civil Defence.
 
The fastest and easiest way for people to report an outage or check an address for an outage is to go online at Vector.co.nz/outages.

Our next update will be at 3.30pm today.
 
ENDS