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Saturday 23 February 2008

Flooding and landslips in upper North Island

The storm which has lashed the upper North Island of New Zeaaland for the past 24 hours has caused flooding, slips and power outages.

State Highway 10 between Kaeo and Whangaroa in the Far North remains closed due to flooding. There is also a slip north of Kaeo on the same highway, which has taken out power lines and caused local outages.

A district council spokeswoman says Waikare Rd, the back road to Russell, is open only to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Kemp and Old Hospital Roads in Whangaroa are also closed due to flooding. Around 25 homes at Whangaroa in Northland are isolated after a land slip.

Power has been restored to most of the 800 homes which had been without electricity since this morning. Power was cut to parts of Waiheke Island, Silverdale north of Auckland, Te Hana north of Wellsford, and Hobsonville in west Auckland. Vector spokeswoman Philippa White says staff have been working to restore power as quickly as possible. (Yahoo Xtra)