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Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has died after a single vehicle crash on State Highway 2 near Tangoio.

The single vehicle crash was reported just after 11:40am today.

The sole occupant of the vehicle died at the scene.

It is the first death on New Zealand roads in this holiday period, although a man died in hospital yesterday after being struck by a car in Napier on Friday.

State Highway 2 was closed for several hours, but has now re-opened.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Off the back of two devastating wildfires in Tongariro National Park, the country is facing another summer of increased fire risk. And while our wildfire history pales in comparison to our neighbours in Australia, New Zealand has had its share of raging hillside infurnos. Our reporter Kate Green takes a look back at some of the big ones, and a look forward at future risk.

It’s early February, 1946, and a long drought has left Taupō hot, and dry.

On one unassuming roadside, a dropped cigarette butt is about to light a fire that burns for days, fanned by a strong northerly wind, through more than 100,000 hectares of land, including 12,000 of pine forest.

“Where it is strongest, little can be done,” proclaimed one Newsreel special, which came out on 10 February. “Only rain can end it.”

The blaze was extinguished in due course – although little information is available online about how this was done.

After destruction comes new life. Come autumn, an unexpected surge of life was observed when radiata pine sprung up in dense patches over burnt plantations; the fire had opened cones which were normally closed and liberated the seeds.

Victoria University ecologist Nicola Day said fire could often have unexpected or unseen effects, particularly for the soil below the fireground.

Her work has involved analysing firegrounds in Canada, and more recently, the sites of wildfires at Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau in 2020.

Historically, Aotearoa had experienced a low fire-risk and its plants hadn’t evolved to survive them – but Day said they’d found a number of natives were hardier than they looked.

“If you go into a site like that it looks like everything’s dead,” she said. “But actually, the top of the plants have burnt off and died, but the inside of them, the part that controls the growth of them, has survived.”

Woody species were the slowest to recover, she said, but even they could regenerate and look alive again within a year or two.

But in the meantime, it left a gap for exotic species – which tended to grow much faster than native species – to take over, making it even harder for natives to repopulate.

It happened at Lake Ōhau in 2020. The fire was lit by an electrical short circuit on a power pole, and it raged for nine days, destroying 48 homes and buildings and damaging 5043 hectares of land, making it one of New Zealand’s most significant wildfires in recent history.

Day said it took the landscape a couple of months to look green again, and for a while, the main species were exotic. But given another couple of years, nearly all the same species had returned, albeit in different quantities.

Let’s step back again in time: 25 November, 1955.

Over the next three days, a fire fanned by gale-force winds destroyed a third of the Balmoral State Forest in North Canterbury – 2400 hectares of timber.

News reports from the time described it as a “disastrous experience” for its owner, the Canterbury Forest Conservancy.

According to a booklet published by the New Zealand Forest Service in 2005 (The Balmoral Forest Fire of November 1955), the first signs of trouble came when residents heard “pistol-like cracks” and, “on investigation found the old mill burning fiercely” at about 10pm.

The only telephone nearby was in that very building, and very much on fire. So, one Mr Bailey drove six kilometres to the Forest Service headquarters to raise the alarm.

The booklet’s author John Ward, who worked as a forest ranger and a rural fire mediator, mused on this question in its final pages: “Would we have done better in 2005? I think yes, and no.”

“No amount of helicopters could have stopped that fire [in its early stages] but perhaps we could have made some real progress in aerial suppression when the wind dropped [on day three]. But would we have had enough men to patrol the Balmoral road and keep the main forest block safe?”

FENZ wildfire manager Tim Mitchell said while firefighting techniques had changed since those days, it still came down to “putting water on the red stuff”.

Water was still the most effective way of dousing fire, but now there were additives available that could made it more effective at cooling or stopping its spread.

Aircraft had also become more powerful, he said, meaning they could carry more water more safely.

And a good thing, too – Mitchell said going by the data on large wildfires (that is, anything larger than 1000 hectares) the risk was increasing.

In the five decades from 1964 to 2015, there had been 19 such fires. In the past decade from 2015 to present day, there had already been 13.

“Still quite a reasonable number, but over a much smaller timeframe,” Mitchell said. “On that basis, yes, you could say that certainly the trend is suggesting that the number of large wildfires is increasing.”

It was likely caused by a number of factors, he said: warmer, dryer, windier conditions at times due to climate change, but also, “where we’re living, and how we’re living”.

New developments meant towns were spreading outwards into rural areas with lots of vegetation and slopes which increased fire risk, and increased recreation ability meant people were accessing off-grid areas more often.

Farm and forestry equipment, too, was more powerful and ran hotter, making it more likely to cause a spark or ignite dry grass.

In fact, Mitchell said the data showed humans caused 98 percent of New Zealand’s wildfires.

Hugh Wallace, team lead for fire and atmospheric sciences at the Bioeconomy Science Institute, said that fact was actually a bright spot for him – something we had the ability to change.

“Unlike North America, unlike Australia, we don’t really get those lightning-caused fires. So basically, where you get more people, you get more fires.”

Wallace said climate change was complicated, but some areas would definitely be in for more hot, dry, windy days, “which is the kind of conditions you do get fires on”.

“My gut instinct is that we probably would get more big fires.”

The Port Hills have seen two major events in the past decade – the first, in February 2017, was when two separate blazes burned through more than 1600 hectares, claimed the life of a helicopter pilot, nine homes and damaged five others, and took 66 days to extinguish.

The cause of one of the fires was deemed to be an electrical fault, and the other remains unknown.

Seven years later almost to the day, the first calls came in just after 2pm on Valentines Day in 2024.

At its peak, more than 130 firefighters, 15 helicopters and two aircraft fought the blaze, as it burnt about 470 hectares across the Port Hills in three weeks.

One home – a tiny house built out of a shipping container – was destroyed.

Stats NZ expects the risk of fire to increase in many parts of the country due to higher temperatures, stronger winds, and less rainfall associated with climate change.

Using data from the last census in 2023, Stats NZ said there were 4683 wildfires per year on average in the five years to 30 June 2022.

Fire and Emergency NZ said the 2019/2020 and 1998/1999 years remained the worst on record for number and area burnt, respectively.

Mitchell said better awareness was needed of how individuals could prevent fires – even things as simple as choosing not to mow the lawns or burn rubbish on a hot day, and pouring water on ashes after a bonfire.

“It’s such an easy way to avoid a lot of the wildfires that we’re having,” he said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

After a soggy start, festivalgoers at Rhythm and Vines can expect to spend the next two days drying up in a gentle breeze.

The three-day music festival in Gisborne started yesterday as thousands turned up in gumboots and ponchos, with the city’s airport MetService station recording its wettest December day since 1937.

Lucy Parkinson – who is at the festival for the second time – was disappointed by the rain.

“I was originally put off going again but I thought that surely it wouldn’t happen for a second year in a row.”

She said she was worried about slipping risks after the heavy rainfall.

“The mud particularly around the toilets, water fountains and high traffic areas is really bad. With the weather last night, the staff were really good at making sure people were okay and preventing attendees from going up the hill during the massive downpour, but I think the grounds are in dire need of some wood chips! The grounds are a slip hazard and I’m worried that people will get injured.”

After a muddy experience at the 2024 festival, Parkinson equipped herself this year with a gazebo, gumboots and a decent tent, but it still felt insufficient against the heavy rain.

And after two consecutive soggy festivals, Parkinson said organisers could have communicated better.

“I also think the organisers could’ve prepared festival goers better with more warnings about the weather, as there’s lots of young people who came unprepared.”

Festival director Kieran Spillane said they had alerted festivalgoers on the possible weather condition and asked people to dress to the conditions.

He said more wood chips were out on Tuesday morning, which will help reduce slipping risks.

But with the weather set to clear, Spillane was confident the grounds will dry up in hours.

“The forecast for today is a very nice pleasant 25, 26 degrees with no rain for the remainder for the festival. We knew the rain was coming so we were prepared for it. The sites are actually holding up very, very well. It’s in as good condition as you would expect.”

The rain was good for business at The Warehouse.

Store manager Brett Mitchell said the festival season was their busiest time of the year.

“Yesterday was torrential rain, a lot of wet people coming in looking for ponchos, tents and towels. So it’s been really full on.”

Mitchell said due to the often wet weather and big crowds, they hired a local cleaning company during the festival for extra support.

“Just to help us keep the store tidy and public toilets clean.”

The store begin preparing stock for the festival nine months ahead and based orders on what was popular the previous year, but rain gear had been a staple.

“We always factor in there’s gonna be rain, because it seems that every year there is at the moment.”

But with the weather clearing up, he was still optimistic.

“We definitely got lots of bodyboards and beach stuff so if the weather does come right, people can certain come in to get all all the stuff for going to the beach, sunblocks. We’ve got plenty of that ready to go as well.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are looking to publicly recognise the family who helped save an elderly lost tramper who collapsed in the Coromandel.

At the end of his ordeal, the 80-year old was taken to Thames Hospital in a moderate condition.

But that rescue was hours in the making, with the mother and her two teenagers the first to reach him when bad weather meant rescuers – and helicopters – could not.

The man was wearing only a singlet and shorts when he got lost while hiking on Sunday. He had also run out of water.

But he did have a mobile phone he used to call family, who then alerted police.

While they were able to pinpoint his location, the weather thwarted efforts to get two helicopters to him.

Police did have another option – the family staying in Crosbies Hut about 100 metres away.

“That’s six hours he could have been by himself if these members of the public hadn’t stepped up and help us out,” Waikato West area commander Mike Henwood said.

“It’s already being looked at higher up in terms of giving them some public recognition in terms of an award for their bravery and their actions to save somebody else who definitely needed it,” he told RNZ.

After being tasked with finding the man, the woman and her teenage children formed a human circle around him to keep him warm.

It was not until first light that search and rescue teams could reach them on foot several hours later.

“Definitely lucky, really it comes down to the fact that he was in close vicinity to one of the DOC huts and there were people staying in there at this time of year,” Henwood said.

“You have to expect that with the temperature and injuries they’ve certainly saved him in some shape or form,” he told RNZ.

“I suppose I would just like to think that any member of the public, any Kiwi would try to step up if they could to help somebody that was in trouble.”

Technology and the mobile location capability used to help find exactly where the man was also key to the rescue.

“Once we were able to obtain that we were able to actually work out it was very close to the Crosbies Hut location,” Henwood said.

“We were able to check with DOC if anyone had made bookings for that hut, and luckily because it’s a busy time of year, there was.”

Henwood had not spoken to the man’s family directly, but was aware they were “a little bit disappointed he had gone off on this mission and got himself in trouble”.

“Which often happens but you can’t tell some people, they like to be adventurous,” Henwood said.

He said a lot of people took more risks than they should while trying to squeeze things in during a busy holiday time.

“Often the weather is not right for them to do it, it can change really fast, and if you have to cancel the trip or the plan that you’ve been waiting months or even a year for sometimes you just have to do it when the weather is how it is,” he said.

Having warm clothes, extra food, a charged mobile and a plan with friends or family were also important.

So too was picking a right activity for your physical ability, Henwood said.

“If we hadn’t have had the family nearby it definitely would have increased his risk of more health issues and the inability due to the weather of helicopters to get in there.

“It took several hours, I think the LandSAR team managed to walk in at 4am in the morning after us initially being made aware at 10pm,” he said.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Researchers are investigating “hotspots” of a venomous spider throughout the country this summer.

The invasive noble false widow spider was first spotted in Porirua last year with further sightings in Christchurch, Nelson, Waikato and Northland.

It’s not an aggressive spider, but it bites in defence and the toxins in its venom cause swelling, redness and pain.

In July, Massey University ecology professor Steven Trewick put the call out for suspected sightings to understand how widespread they are.

“We thought that with the level of interest in this spider, we would hear a bit more from people, perhaps slightly panicky kind of responses saying they found some spiders,” he said.

“And in fact it’s been surprisingly quiet.”

That could be because people have not recognised it, he said.

“The other possibility is that in fact, this new invasive species is not as widespread as … early indications suggested.

“So it could be that it is very locally abundant, possibly in a number of places around the country … and hasn’t spread sort of uniformly across the landscape.”

This summer, Massey researchers will search the “hotspots” where they’ve already been found, beginning in Porirua.

They’ll gradually move away from urban areas – metre by metre – to see if the spiders are still present as they head into grass, shrub and bush.

“It could be that they’re hotspots because that’s just where we’ve paid attention, or they’re real hotspots because there are relatively high densities of these spiders just in those places,” Trewick said.

Their locations could also be determined by the wind, he said.

“When the hatchlings pop out of their little bundle of eggs, this little sort of cocoon, very, very tiny, the first thing that they do is let out a little strand of silk … and that catches the wind and is enough to lift them off and take them away.

“Many of them, of course, will land up somewhere useless, but some might find just a nice little spot to make their first web.”

Researchers will also do population genetic work to understand how many spiders arrived in New Zealand, and which country they came from.

PhD students in the British Isles, Europe and Chile are undertaking similar efforts, Trewick said.

“It becomes a really interesting multinational effort dealing with, sort of a common problem.”

Biologists wanted to know whether the spider was moving into native environments, and interacting with other native spiders and animals, he said.

“If that happened, then that would be a bigger … biodiversity conservation issue.”

What to look out for – and where

The noble false widow is a pale reddish colour with distinctive white markings on the abdomen, “the big blobby part of the body,” said Trewick.

They have a large spherical abdomen, smaller “front end” and long, naked legs, Trewick said.

“Sort of a classic cartoon spider, not your hairy tarantula-y kind of spider at all,” he said.

The spiders are about a centimetre long, and the legs are another couple of centimetres, said Trewick.

They’ve been found around people’s homes, under pot plants, tarpaulin and in fence crevices.

The spiders are most active at night, and they’re speedy, so can disappear quickly once they’ve been disturbed, said Trewick.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wild weather continued to batter much of the country today, leaving thousands without power.

MetService reported that the wettest weather has moved off Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, with just the odd shower remaining.

However, rain has moved further south, while several Heavy Rain Watches and Warnings remain in place for the next couple of days.

Gusty southeasterlies continued today, especially over the South Island where an Orange Wind Warning remains in place this afternoon.

A strong wind warning was in place for Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the West Coast north of Fox Glacier for much of the day, with Wellington under a wind watch until 9pm.

Heavy rain watches were in force for the Tararua District and Wairarapa until 4pm, and the Kaikoura Coast until 9pm.

While Wednesday does not see winds as strong as the past few days, winds will still be noticeable for most.

Thunderstorms will be something to keep an eye on throughout Wednesday, with localised intense rain and strong gusts possible.

This includes Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Kapiti, and Wairarapa, and northern Wellington in the North Island, as well as the West Coast Region in the South Island.

Electra was reporting power cuts on the Kapiti Coast affecting Paekakariki, Foxton and Shannon on Tuesday morning.

On the West Coast, Buller Electricity said the power was off to Karamea, Little Wanganui and Karamea Bluff.

Tauranga City Council has cancelled all five of its community New Year’s Eve events because of the bad weather forecast.

The council said weather reports indicated heavy rain and strong winds during event set-up, with conditions highly likely to continue into Wednesday. It said fireworks displays would hopefully still take place from various locations around the city on New Year’s Eve.

Cleanup continues

In the parts of the South Island, strong winds brought down trees overnight.

• Has your holiday been disrupted by the weather? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz with your photos or information.

Fire and Emergency said State Highway 7 over the Rahu Saddle, between Reefton and Springs Junction, was affected.

State Highway 6 also had trees coming down, particularly through the Whangamoa Hills between Nelson and Blenheim.

Firefighters were still being called out into the evening across the North Island, taking the total number of weather-related jobs to about 140 in Auckland, Northland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.

PowerCo said hundreds of properties remain without power north of Whanganui, and around Palmerston North and Feilding.

Campground holidays disrupted

Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year’s after a lashing of wind and rain.

Wild weather battered much of the North Island on Monday, disrupting campers, causing power outages and downing trees.

In Auckland a roof was torn off an unoccupied home in Hillsborough, as fire crews responded to more than 100 weather-related callouts.

The manager of Kūaotunu Campground on the Coromandel Peninsula, Yvette Davey, said the weather had caused a bit of disruption on Monday.

“We have had a couple of campers that their tents were destroyed so they had to go home, other than that people are hunkering down, it’s settled down here,” she said.

Leanne Mills, the owner of Long Bay Motor Camp in Coromandel said campers were not too put off by the wet weather.

“We’ve had a bit of rain [on Monday] but we’ve been lucky campers have just used it as a crash day, just chill out, read a book, sleep,” she said.

“We’ve just got continued support from our regulars, mostly 90 percent Kiwis, so they’ll come and just meet up every year with the same people year after year and they don’t really care if it rains.”

Festivalgoers for New Year’s events such as Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne have been warned to watch out for wild weather on the roads.

See how today’s weather events unfolded with RNZ’s live blog:

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand