Source: Radio New Zealand
A large tree fallen at a restaurant in Whakatāne during Cyclone Vaianu. RNZ/ Robin Martin
Authorities should consider the impact on businesses of people staying home when they weigh up the safety considerations involved with wild weather warnings, one data analyst says.
Data from Dot Loves Data shows the impact of weather warnings on 12 April, as Cyclone Vaianu hit New Zealand.
Compared to every other Sunday of 2026, excluding Easter Sunday, it showed Northland spending was down 48 percent. Auckland’s was down 46.5 percent, Waikato was down 52.58 percent, Bay of Plenty down 68.32 percent, Gisborne down 51.6 percent and Hawke’s Bay was down 56.34 percent.
“It’s highest in the areas most closely impacted by the Cyclone’s forecast path and decreases correspondingly the further each region is located,” director Justin Lester said.
“While we think as New Zealanders and human beings, that we’re all autonomous human beings, the reality is we’re actually more like sheep. If someone tells us to do something, we do it.
“And New Zealanders are compliant. They do tend to follow rules, not everybody, but most. So when we get a missive from the MetService or the government around a warning, we follow the rules.
“That’s great. It’s really good to see that, and people are prioritising life safety and family safety. But what we also have to understand for decision-makers is, look, these transactions, the level of spend has a massive decline. There are real-world implications, so it needs to make sure that it’s being done accurately and with a good level of information, and with due care for the potential impact on a local economy as well.”
Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said there might have been an impact on spending anyway, because of the weather being bad.
“Yes we should always be careful with the alerts we put out. I don’t think anyone in MetService or whoever they are now is sitting there and thinking, you know what, I think it would be a fun day to just issue a red alert for lols. So, you know, from that purpose, I don’t think that weather forecasters or those involved with emergency management should have much regard for economic trends there.
“They shouldn’t ever have in their decision making, should I or shouldn’t I issue an alert based on what it might do to spending in the local area? I think that’s not their remit… but like I say, I’m not sure that it’s the alert itself or if it’s more the, there’s a correlation causation question there.”
Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell said weather warnings played a crucial part in helping businesses make informed decisions to mitigate weather-related economic impacts and keep people safe.
“Warnings are advisory and do not impose any restrictions on people or businesses. It is the weather itself, not the warnings, that primarily causes the economic impacts.
“History shows that poor preparation, poor response, and poor decision-making in relation to severe weather events comes with significant economic and human cost. It is not surprising that economic activity slows down during periods of severe weather, but businesses are getting much better at planning ahead for weather-related disruption.
“Weather events are likely to become more frequent and severe, and it is important that all organisations have business continuity arrangements, and insurance, to help them get through.
“Central, regional, and local government will provide as much information and support as possible to communities but ultimately, they are responsible for making their own decisions around how to prepare and respond to severe weather events. The best response to these events is a whole of society response.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand