The tail end of ex-tropical Cyclone Gita blew in and blew out of the West Coast overnight, but its impact was far less than expected from the foreboding warnings in the media.
Almost every school and preschool from Karamea to Haast was closed for two days,some businesses put up the 'closed' sign and Buller, Grey and Westland councils each declared a state of emergency as the winds started to escalate.
One Punakaiki motel owner was apparently so fearful that they cancelled their bookings, boarded up the windows and left town.
However, the worst the cyclone could do was to blow over a campervan on the Coast Road, blow the roof off the Rotomanu Hall, send a tree on to part of a house at Whataroa, and strand tourists on buses after they were caught between falling trees.
All highways were reopened by lunchtime today.
Whataroa, Runanga and the Coast Road, and Cobden bore the brunt, with the Runanga Volunteer Brigade attending 16 call-outs and the Cobden brigade 14 call-outs.
They were helped by Greymouth firefighters, who had no problems of their own to contend with as the winds were relatively tame apart from the odd gust.
The Hokitika brigade also had no call-outs, and even Westport, where the roof was peeled off a fire-damaged house, got through the storm better than expected.
Runanga fire chief Gavin Gibbens said their first call was to tie down about a dozen sheets of iron which were flying around McGowan Street near the swimming pool just after 4pm.
An hour later they were called to the Coast Road, at the bottom of Seventeen Mile Bluff, after a campervan was blown over.
"The winds were quite strong out there and square bollards that weigh 50kg, used to cut the road to one lane, had blown over. We had to shift them to get to the campervan," Mr Gibbens said.
Other calls mainly related to securing roofing iron and clearing fallen trees.
"The wind was quite strong so we didn't put anyone on the roofs, just tried to tie them down with ropes.
"We finished about 8.30pm and there were no more call-outs through the night."
Cobden fire chief Gary Pollock said they had their first call-out at 5pm and had finished by 10pm.
"There was nothing major -- loose tiles, loose panels on a veranda, a garage door blew out and there was a smoke logged house. Dust blowing around at one time was quite severe, but I don't think there was any sea surge at all.
"As far as Cobden is concerned, we got off very lightly."
In Westport, fire chief Alan Kennedy said they had been expecting a lot more wind related call-outs than the 26 they dealt with.
"The first call was after 11am and we went through to 8.30pm.
"There were a few wires down and roofs lifting but none came off," Mr Kennedy said.
Buller District Council chief executive Andy Gowland-Douglas said 28 people were accommodated in motels and motorcamps in the district last night but the worse was over before midnight.
Granity residents whose homes backed on to the sea were evacuated earlier in the day.
"Thankfully, high tide came and went with no major issues.
"Reefton and Karamea escaped most of the storm with the main affected areas being Westport and the other coastal areas north and south.
"The council has sent a building assessment team out to inspect all the homes that were evacuated in Granity yesterday to ensure it is safe to return."
Hokitika fire chief Harry Collett said it was so calm in Hokitika "if you put a flag up, you'd have to shake it to flap it".
However further south things were a bit more intense, Whataroa and Hari Hari took a direct hit as gale-force winds sent a tree crashing through a house, rolled a truck and stranded busloads of tourists for the night.
A makeshift welfare centre was set up in the Whataroa Hall for 25 tourists who bunked down for the night, awaiting the reopening of State highway 6 at 9 o'clock this morning.
In Haast, locals again put up stranded tourists in the community hall, this time about 30. Others spent the night on their bus after falling trees blocked the road in either direction.
The Westland civil defence team said about 100 tourists were secure in welfare centres or on buses for the night at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.
Westland Mayor Bruce Smith said significantly fewer were affected than the hundreds who were trapped by Cyclone Fehi three weeks ago.
Mr Smith said the difference was the proactive warnings and the early closure of the main tourist route, State highway 6.
- by Chris Tobin and Janna Sherman
