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Waves in Haumoana - Source: ONE News -
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Beachfront residents in the Hawke's Bay have been allowed to return home after waves reported to be as high as a house prompted an evacuation on Monday.
Police evacuated residents from 21 houses at Haumoana Beach, 10km north east of Hastings, and another four residents at Ocean Beach, 24km south east of Hastings.
An area stretching from Waipatiki, south east of Dannevirke, to Whirinaki, 15km north east of Napier, and including Te Awanga, Clifton and Waimarama, was also affected by the swells.
The Hastings District Council monitored the swells over the weekend before activating emergency management operations on Monday.
The waves measured between three and six metres, with residents reporting one wave was higher than a house, Senior Sergeant Ross Smith says.
"The swells were the worst in 12 years," he says.
The area is no stranger to sudden tidal surges. Just last week, families abandoned their homes due to the threat of a tsunami, and homes in the area were lashed by storms in 2005 and 2008, causing widespread devastation.
Residents are now renewing their calls for local authorities to allow them to protect themselves, after the council prosecuted a couple for rebuilding a wall without consent. And a $19 million coastal protection plan was ditched last year, with landowners angry at plans to make them stump up with most of the cost.
Warnings remain
People are still being warned to stay off the beaches and away from low-lying waterways right along the Hawke's Bay coastline.
The council said on Monday afternoon the risk had lowered enough for residents to return home, but advised people to remain vigilant.
The council's emergency management operations centre is keeping an eye on sea conditions leading up to high tide at 1.20am Tuesday.
More residents should be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen, the council says.
The last high tide had thrown debris onto properties and smashed windows at Haumoana. Debris was washing onto Clifton Rd at Haumoana, and the road to the Clifton Motorcamp had eroded.
A council spokeswoman says that the dangers to people on the beaches "couldn't be over-emphasised".
"After all, we saw how people reacted during the tsunami warning," she says.
The MetService says the swells should recede over the next few days.
Cancellation
Meanwhile heavy swells on the Wairarapa's east coast have forced the cancellation of the annual horse racing on Castlepoint Beach.
They were due to be held in a fortnight, but pounding waves have stripped the entire beach of sand.
The Castlepoint Racing Club says it's left with no choice but to
cancel.
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