Emergency Management and Recovery Minister praises community after Canterbury floods
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger provide an update on the flood recovery efforts in Canterbury.
Photo:
RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
The Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery has praised the community response to the severe weather over the last week.
Christchurch and Banks Peninsula are still in a state of emergency
after torrential rain hit the Canterbury region, while households across
Wellington, Wairarapa, and Manawatū remain without power
following a rare "threat to life" warning with the strongest wind in over a decade.
"As a country, we've always had these weather events - particularly people in the South Island, they're used to water and rain. However, they are becoming more intense and severe," Mark Mitchell told
Saturday Morning
.
"Communities are becoming more and more sensitive to that, and realising that as a country to strengthen our response and be more resilient, it's not just central government, local government or regional government, or our first responders - it's a whole of community response."
Mitchell said he could see a difference between when he first became the Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery to now.
He said those in Canterbury had told him that there was good communication, and the Civil Defence teams had done a "very, very good job in terms of responding early to their needs".
The local state of emergency has lifted for Selwyn, and Mitchell said the main concern was now the surface flooding, which was "starting to abate".
"I'll be out checking, making sure that, first of all, residents are taken care of and they can identify clearly what needs to be done in terms of infrastructure and property damage. I'm on standby from central government to support once I've been able to identify that," Mitchell added.
He also said power companies had been working "flat out" to restore power to households across Wellington, Wairarapa, and Manawatū.
There was also work underway for
a new Emergency Management Bill
to replace the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, which Mitchell said was out of consultation.
"I want to make that absolutely fit for purpose."
Meanwhile, the Cook Strait Ferries are expected to be running again today after large swells cancelled services for the last couple of days.
Data from the Marine Traffic ship tracker shows Interislander ferry the Aratere is en route from Wellington to Picton.
Bluebridge's first sailing is meanwhile expected to be later this morning.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Flooding processes defended
Selwyn District Council and Environment Canterbury have defended how they responded to the major flooding in the district early last month. Mayor Sam Broughton and Environment Canterbury chair Craig Pauling have told Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell the flooding infrastructure held up, and the processes to manage flooding were up to standard. They were responding to a letter from Mitchell sent to councils across New Zealand asking them to have a 'frank and honest' discussion about responding to flooding. In his letter he highlighted the flooding in Canterbury, where parts of Selwyn and Banks Peninsula were hit hard. "No stopbanks were breached or overtopped, and although drainage schemes were overwhelmed in places, they behaved as expected with water entering known ponding areas,' Broughton and Pauling said in a letter sent to Mitchell. The district saw two months of rainfall fall in about 48 hours, causing a large amount of flooding, particularly around Ellesmere and Tai Tapu. A particular concern among the community was whether Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere could have been opened ahead of the flooding to reduce the impact. Broughton and Pauling told Mitchell even if the lake could have been opened, it would likely have made little difference. 'Unfortunately, sea conditions prior to the event were not favourable, and any opening attempt would have been unsafe and unsuccessful. Had an opening attempt been made a week earlier, it would have closed quickly and likely would have had little effect on water levels during the event.' It was noted in the letter that ECan wants the Government to continue to assist with funding for telemetry to monitor river levels and flows. "To further support upgrades and strengthen resilience, co-funding with central Government has been sought within the Regional Infrastructure Fund to further accelerate our work.' As part of its continued review of the May floods, the district council is paying particular attention to Doyleston, which was one of the worst-hit areas in the district. On Sunday, council staff met with Doyleston residents to get local knowledge of locations that may have contributed to the flooding. Staff said it would use that information to establish the next steps for the settlement.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Heavy fog disrupts flights at Auckland Airport
Heavy fog blankets Auckland on 10 the morning of June. Photo: RNZ Dozens of domestic flights at Auckland Airport have been delayed or cancelled due to a thick fog enveloping the city this morning. About 23 flights were delayed and 9 flights were cancelled due to the fog. But the Airport says fog restrictions have been lifted about 7am. International flights have not been affected. The fog is expected to give way to showers and thunderstorms later, NIWA says. Meanwhile, parts of the South Island have again woken up to sub-zero temperatures this morning, with Mount Cook the lowest in the country at -10degC. It's followed by Lake Tekapo at -9deg and Central Otago at -4deg. It's also chilly on the North Island's Desert Road at -3.7deg. MetService says there may be thunderstorms to Northland this morning, and Auckland this afternoon.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Fog disrupts flights at Auckland Airport
A file pic of fog at Auckland Airport. Photo: RNZ / Jessie Chiang Several flights have been affected at Auckland Airport on Tuesday morning due to fog. One domestic flight has been cancelled and six other domestic flights have been delayed. International flights have not been affected. Meanwhile, parts of the South Island have again woken up to sub-zero temperatures this morning, with Mount Cook the lowest in the country at -10degC. It's followed by Lake Tekapo at -9deg and Central Otago at -4deg. It's also chilly on the North Island's Desert Road at -3.7deg. MetService says there may be thunderstorms to Northland this morning, and Auckland this afternoon.
