Storm. Thoughts for those at the centre.

Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, October 14th, 2013 - 32 comments
Categories: disaster, health and safety - Tags:

Things are appearing to be quite bad in the south and in Wellington.

Stuff reports:

Three floors of scaffolding have collapsed at a central Wellington construction site as powerful winds cause chaos and forecasters warn the “meat” of the storm is still to come.

The gusts have been battering Wellington and the South Island all day, with the force growing in the capital since midday.

Just before 5pm, MetService recorded a 124kmh wind gust in Wellington. At a similar time, three floors of scaffolding came smashing down at a building site on Willis St, just along from the Telecom Centre in the central business district.

The street has been closed. A Fire Service spokesman said there were fears that the scaffolding could be “live” as a result of contact with trolley bus lines, and pedestrians were being kept well clear.

“It’s very unstable, and could still present a risk to people,” he said.

No-one appears to have been hurt, but people have been asked to stay away from area because bits of debris are being blown about.

I’m seeing tweets of some pretty bad damage in Wellington.

Hoping people are able to stay safe, and they have some reasonable shelter.

32 comments on “Storm. Thoughts for those at the centre. ”

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  1. Rogue Trooper 1
    14 October 2013 at 6:24 pm

    sigh. been blowing like 40 illegitimate children here too.

  2. johnm 2
    14 October 2013 at 6:24 pm

    The atmosphere continues to trap more heat despite the ocean absorbing most of the heat increase in the last 10 years. Climate Change is intensifying around the World. perhaps the MSM should openly discuss this?

    • karol 2.1
      14 October 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Yes, johnm. I was thinking how such extreme storms are increasing. But, of course, there are problems identifying one nasty storm as evidence of climate change. It’s more about the amount of such storms over a given period.

      • Matthew Whitehead 2.1.1
        15 October 2013 at 6:45 am

        Granted, but you would think that the particularly nasty storm would be a good excuse to start talking about the trend of more extreme weather.

        • karol 2.1.1.1
          15 October 2013 at 9:56 am

          Yes, MW. But, it was a quick post about a particular storm. The immediate concern was people’s safety.

          It does lead on to various issues: climate change and dealing with increasing extreme weather events and shifting climate patters; the plight of those who are homeless or less than adequate housing, (as Rosie states below).

          I’m happy for such issues to be discussed in the comments under this post – especially when the people who experienced the storm have had time for a little more reflection after dealing with the storm itself.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 2.1.2
        15 October 2013 at 7:27 am

        My view is that 100% of the weather is affected by climate.

        • karol 2.1.2.1
          15 October 2013 at 1:56 pm

          Well, yes. Weather is affected by climate. But to argue about climate change, you need to refer to more than one event. It is evident in the pattern. There’s been many excellent posts on this blog about that.

    • johnm 2.2
      14 October 2013 at 7:03 pm

      “Climate-change summary and update”
      http://guymcpherson.com/2013/01/climate-change-summary-and-update/

      “On the topic of tipping points, we crossed the Rubicon in 2007 at about 0.76 C warming. At this point, according to David Spratt’s excellent September 2013 report, “Is Climate Already Dangerous?” Not only had Arctic sea-ice passed its tipping point, but the Greenland Ice Sheet may not be far behind, as the Arctic moves to sea-ice-free conditions in summer. Glaciologist Jason Box, an expert on Greenland ice, agrees. Box was quoted in a 5 December 2012 article in the Guardian: “In 2012 Greenland crossed a threshold where for the first time we saw complete surface melting at the highest elevations in what we used to call the dry snow zone. … As Greenland crosses the threshold and starts really melting in the upper elevations it really won’t recover from that unless the climate cools significantly for an extended period of time which doesn’t seem very likely.”

  3. cricklewood 3
    14 October 2013 at 6:46 pm

    To be fair gale northerlies are par for the course in welly at this time of year certainly 125 kph isnt unusual

    • miravox 3.1
      14 October 2013 at 9:05 pm

      “To be fair gale northerlies are par for the course in welly at this time of year “

      Family down there reckon it’s the worst they’ve experienced in Central Wellington. Been there for 20 years – well, 12 years for the kid, given that’s how old he is.

  4. JK 4
    14 October 2013 at 7:28 pm

    Blimey ! and up here in the eastern North, we’re heading into drought territory. No real rain for at least three (maybe four) weeks. They said climate change would bring extremes. Looks like its here now.

  5. Rich 5
    14 October 2013 at 7:32 pm

    I often wonder why, given we are a supposedly self-reliant rural people, NZ media makes so much fuss about a bit of wind and rain? I assume it’s that when it comes to news reporting, Nothing Ever Happens Here beats Rural Stoicism every time.

    (Yesterday, National Radio reported somebody being kicked by a horse).

  6. ScottGN 6
    14 October 2013 at 8:02 pm

    The temperature dropped to 3 degrees in Queenstown this evening as the wind and rain came through. It’s eased now though and The Remarks have emerged freshly coated in spring snow.

  7. infused 7
    14 October 2013 at 8:41 pm

    Yes – climate change is to blame for the same weather we have in Wellington, year upon year.

  8. Rosie 8
    15 October 2013 at 9:46 am

    Thank you once again TS and to you karol for acknowledging events that happen around the rest of the country. As I’ve said before the TS putting up a notice board to discuss recent earthquakes was appreciated. That’s solidarity. Kia Ora.

    Gotta wonder if Martyn Bradbury was laughing at us down here right at this moment given his paranoid neurotic delusions about what Wellingtonians think of Auckland:

    “This fetish with hating Auckland is heightened because Auckland doesn’t really give a stuff about what anyone anywhere else in the country is doing or saying about them – why? Because Auckland is far more interesting”

    What a child.

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/10/12/what-every-aucklander-knew-the-wellington-syndrome/

    In regard to yesterdays winds. It was ripper. One of the very times I’ve wondered if something wasn’t going to fly off the house, but least I’ve got one – I always wonder where do our increasing number of homeless go at times like this.
    We do get the spring winds, the roaring 40’s, so kind of expect it gets wild at this time of the year but I’m sure that was worse than usual, in my experience of the 7 years I’ve been living here and I’d say it was second only to the June 20th Solstice southerly that caused heaps of damage. Seems quiet enough today at least! Hope everyone is well and in one piece.

  9. Martin 9
    15 October 2013 at 10:07 am

    the met had better not call this a “once in a 100 year event”
    we’ve already done that recently.
    For me the debate on causation is long over: It is us.
    I no longer waste energy dealing with people in denial .

    Instead our elected representatives need to hear a consistant message
    calling for deep systemic change.
    The scientists are consistently warning us time is getting short.
    Some are starting to use the E word.

  10. tc 10
    15 October 2013 at 11:08 am

    Planet is getting warmer, it’s irrefutable now.
    So more water evaporates, giving the atmosphere more mass/energy to hurl around so those cycles are more extreme.

    Local farmers ares saying one of the best winters ever, not too much rain/cold, plenty of growth, haymaking round 1 in the barn/wrapped in the field already.

    Will they go on the say one of the worst springs ever.

  11. Anne 11
    15 October 2013 at 12:05 pm

    Ferocious winds have hit Auckland. Been slowly increasing for hours and then wham! My roof is still on but gather there a quite a few that aren’t…

    • Tim 11.1
      15 October 2013 at 1:36 pm

      And to think – despite a nation that grows and produces radiata pine 4×2’s at $4 a metre, your insurance company might just stump up for the replacement framing before increasing your premiums. (Whilst the US it costs $1 pm). If you want to put long run aluminium on top of that – despite our generous subsidy of aluminium smelters – I suspect that’ll come with an increase in premium.
      (This free-market/global economy we’ve signed up to is a real treat ain’t it! – It works just so well)
      Thank Christ you weren’t contemplating any insulation. There’s a pink option, and a green option – both actually complete bullshit in terms of their cost (versus ‘value’) and the juggernaut of duopoly behind both capable of bs spinning busy justifying their ‘price’

  12. Martin 12
    16 October 2013 at 11:11 pm

    The icecaps are melting

    the rainforests are disappearing

    we are consuming everything

    the weather is becoing unstable

    we DON’T need another

    runway extension
    motorway flyover
    Road of National significance.

    we have met the enemy
    it is US.