Cyclone Bola
- When
- 6 March 1988 – 9 March 1988
- Where
- Gisborne · Tūranganui-a-Kiwa
- Reach
- Several regions
Over 900 millimetres of rain fell on the East Coast in three days, stripping hillsides and cutting the region off. Three people died.
Bola caused around $200 million in damage in 1988 terms, destroyed crops and infrastructure, and buried farmland under silt. Its lasting effect was on land use: the erosion made unmistakable what deforestation had done to steep East Coast hill country, and drove a major programme of retirement and forestry planting on the worst land.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
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