31 March 2025
Mangawhai tornado response
He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata – it is people, it is people, it is people.
On Sunday 26 January 2025, a tornado struck Mangawhai. Strong winds, estimated to be 150 kilometres per hour caused extensive damage to overhead lines on our network, severing 4,730 connections.
Northpower crews were on the ground as soon as possible to ensure public safety and restore power and fibre to the shaken community.
Putting community safety first
Our control room acted quickly in response to the damage, isolating the damaged network and quickly restoring supply to the majority of the 4,730 network connections in the Mangawhai area.
Multiple lines teams were dispatched, clearing the area of downed powerlines, broken poles and debris from ravaged trees and destroyed homes, before commencing work on electrical equipment.
1000
connections repaired
4730
network connections assessed and restored
300
fibre connections restored
Assessing the damage and restoring the power
Our teams prioritised isolation of damaged connections and restored power to undamaged connections as quickly and safely as possible.
Each of the feeders supplying the 4,730 network connections needed to be assessed before supply could safely be restored. Northpower’s lines crews worked in tandem with our control room to coordinate switching (diversion of power) to identify safe and damaged connections.
The dedication of our lines crews to restore power was evident – within five hours, they restored 3,730 connections and identified 1,000 more needing comprehensive repair work. This included replacing poles and overhead power lines.
Thorough testing was completed to ensure that connections to each residence were safe. By 1pm the next day, 750 further connections had been repaired. The remaining 250 connections required substantial effort to repair, with the teams working long hours to get these connections live by the Wednesday, three days after the event.
Acting as one to get people back online
Over 300 fibre connections were cut off during the tornado due to fallen overhead poles. Northpower’s fibre team worked closely with our lines teams to re-string new fibre lines and repair the damaged fibre network as new poles were installed.
This co-ordinated approach ensured all damaged fibre connections were back online within five days.
Serving our community
Northpower is deeply dedicated to the communities we serve, that goes beyond standard repair work.
Our people were quickly on the scene, interacting directly with residents and businesses to keep them safe, and working tirelessly to restore their power and internet. Our customer care team provided advice through phone calls, emails and gave regular social media updates to keep the community informed.
Throughout the process we worked closely with the Kaipara District Council and first responders to ensure our efforts did not obstruct essential services on the scene.
It was gratifying for our teams to receive public support from Mangawhai residents in person, online and in the media:
“The calibre, attitude, and positivity of the Northpower field crews is amazing, absolute professionals.”
“It’s wonderful to see the faith and confidence that the Mangawhai community have in Northpower, everyone is talking about it.”
“The Northpower team had most people back on in record time.”
“I didn’t want to get in the way of the workers to thank them in person, but truly, thank you to every single person who’s helped our community. Y’all got us back up with power so swiftly and helped get us reconnected through the internet as fast as you could. You’ve all done a lot for our community, so thank you all so much.”
“These guys from Northpower deserve never ending accolades…in our times of need they step up each time, rain hail or shine, they are legends.”
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