In the tiny Northland town of Mangamuka, extreme weather has already isolated its people and the incoming cyclone threatens to make it worse
In the tiny Northland town of Mangamuka, extreme weather has already isolated its people and the incoming cyclone threatens to make it worse
11 February 2023
It was July 2020 when heavy rain saw slips wash away State Highway 1 where it crossed the Mangamuka Range, south of Kaitaia.
It took a year and $14m to open the road, and just over a year later the rains came again and the repair work slid down the hill.
The 500 or so people in and around Mangamuka live on New Zealand's main road but it's a road to nowhere.
Now, with Cyclone Gabrielle bearing down, they are bracing to be further isolated.
When it rains, floods south of Mangamuka usually close the town's only road out.
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