Stanley Point cliffs give way after deluge

Stanley Point was one of the areas most savagely hit by the torrential weather.

Numerous slips occurred along the coastline. Contractors took chainsaws to many trees at the bottom of cliff faces late last week.

One wing of Devon Park, the luxury apartment complex built at the point in the late 1960s, was red-stickered, temporarily forcing residents to move out.

Among other damage, a bridge linking Stanley Bay Park and the Navy sports fields was left battered and broken, and was closed by Auckland Council.

The clifftop George Bassett lookout at the tip of Stanley Point was also closed by council, as a precaution.

A large tree toppled and took out a fence next door to Ngataringa Tennis Club. Closer to Devonport, houses near the Navy’s north yard around Patuone Place were flooded.

Slips also occured around Maungauika.

Aftermath… Contractors sawed up fallen trees at the bottom of cliffs around Stanley Point (above). Apartment complex Devon Park was red-stickered (below left).

Devon Park declared safe following red-sticker scare

Residents of a wing of the Devon Park apartment complex were evacuated after a slip and the building briefly red-stickered while investigations into its safety were conducted. Around 8pm on 27 January, a slip occurred in front of the property’s West Wing, which has six apartments – four of them occupied at the time.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we moved these people out overnight.

“On Saturday morning, we reassessed the situation; the building was undamaged but some trees and undergrowth had slipped into the sea,” Devon Park’s body-corporate chair, David Rowland said.

Auckland Council inspectors red-stickered the West Wing the next day.

“At this point we had arranged hotel accommodation for our residents from the West Wing.”

Subsequently, geotechnical engineers inspected the site, “confirming that only vegetation had slipped, and the rock face was fine.”

A second visit from council inspectors has seen the red sticker replaced with a yellow sticker “restricting access to the edge of the cliff while our engineers survey and advise what, if any, remediation work is required.”

All occupants were able to return, Rowland said.

Navy base swamped as rain and tide converge

Low-lying areas of the Devonport Naval Base and its Ngataringa sports fields were left flooded by the 27 January downpour.

“There have been some slips on the base, which have been assessed to be superficial but will require removal of some trees as part of the remedial work,” a Defence spokesperson said.

Damage assessments were continuing and staff had initially been encouraged to work from home to limit travel on roads.

Problems had been most apparent which high tide and heavy rain converged.

The Navy Museum in Torpedo Bay was undamaged inside and remained open.

Navy liaison officers were deployed to help Civil Defence efforts over Auckland Anniversary weekend in Warkworth and Whangarei and crews later helped in Sunnynook and Milford. Some personnel were dealing with their own personal flooding issues, the spokesperson added.