Experts call for better info to help evaluate flood risks

2 days ago

environment policy 27 minutes ago
An expert panel has called for more and better information to help people evaluate flood risk on properties. Climate Change Correspondent Eloise Gibson reports.

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RNZ News

19 minutes ago

RNZ News

Icy roads causing crashes

Photo: 123rf Sub-zero temperatures in southern parts of the country are a reminder to take care on the roads, Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said on Thursday. Southern fire crews attended three crashes related to icy conditions before 6.30am. MetService reported temperatures in the negatives across the South Island and in parts of the lower North Island. Timaru dipped below -4C, while Queenstown was -3C just ahead of 7am. In the North Island, Masterton was reporting temperatures nearing -2 at about 6am. FENZ spokesperson Daryl Ball said crews responded to a light truck that ended up on its side in slippery conditions near Ravensbourne, Christchurch at about 5.30amTwo other crashes attributed to the conditions were also attended. He said ice was widespread on southern roads, and could linger well into the morning. "Don't assume that because it looks good it's safe. There is ice absolutely everywhere this morning," Ball said. A police spokesperson said there were no reports of serious injuries in weather-related incidents. "Please - slow down, watch your following distance and use your headlights. We want everyone to get where they're going safely this morning." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

11 hours ago

RNZ News

Supplies flown in after 'huge' slip cuts off Motueka Valley homes

Cornelia Vervoorn next to one of the large slips. Photo: Supplied / Cornelia Vervoorn A handful of homes in the Motueka Valley are awaiting a second drop of supplies by helicopter, after their road access was cut off in the second of two devastating floods to hit the Tasman district. The Nelson Tasman region transitioned into an official recovery period last week , ending the state of emergency that was declared on 10 July, between two floods weeks apart that caused widespread damage to to homes, farms, orchards and businesses. Cornelia Vervoorn is one of those whose home has been cut off, after several slips came down on Hinetai Road, near Tapawera. Vervoorn, her partner and their neighbour have now been without road access for almost two weeks and it's likely to be a few more before it is reinstated. "The second bout of weather was even more intense than the first, we watched the river get higher and higher and we knew there was likely to be some rockfall on the road leading to our place but when we actually investigated it, it turned out there were six slips, one of which was really huge and totally impassable. "Luckily we live on a on a hill with really good drainage so our house was absolutely fine, so we're really lucky in that regard but we ended up without power for a week and there's no road access to our house." She had ordered groceries online that would be dropped off by helicopter on Thursday and she said she was most looking forward to fresh fruit and vegetables and a bottle of wine she had added as a treat. A crew flown in by helicopter to repair fallen power lines were able to bring in some feed for her horses, with Civil Defence also doing a drop of food items and a generator, after the couple returned the one they had borrowed after the first flood. "That made a difference, we could charge up phones and we had the wood burner, which was fantastic and I figured out how to make bread in a cast iron it was all very little house on the prairie." A helicopter bringing in supplies. Photo: Supplied / Cornelia Vervoorn The couple have lost road access before, including during ex-Tropical Cyclone Gita in 2018, and had pre-emptively parked a car at their neighbours around two kilometres down the road. They had been able to walk out across the slips to their vehicle but had avoided doing so while the slip was still active. She hoped that rain forecast for next week wouldn't cause any additional problems. "We're just concerned that it'll make the slips even less stable or affect our ability to cross them if we really need to get out." Tapawera Connect community connector Della Webby said there were still many people in the small community need of support. "It's been a real team effort, we've had tractors get to some people, we've had people walking over slips trying to get to others, we've had helicopters dropping supplies. It's been really good, but it's hard to sustain that amount of effort when there's so much work needing to be done still." Many people had their properties cleaned up after the first flood, only to have the second one two weeks later cause even more damage. While there had been lots of help offered, there was still more needed. "You might have five teams coming to help, but there might be 30 farms that are desperately needing it." She said free accommodation was available close to the town for those outside the district who were able to volunteer their time to reinstate fences and clear silt and debris. "So if there's people coming from outside of our district, we can actually house them and feed them too if they need it. A Hinetai Road slip that has cut off road access in Motueka Valley. Photo: Supplied / Cornelia Vervoorn The toll of recent events was clear when the Tasman District Council's flood relief navigators visited Tapawera last week to provide residents with support. "There was just a lot of emotion, a lot of tears. People are just starting to struggle emotionally with the second impact the second flood...I'm noticing there's a lot of anxiety around next week and a potential third event coming. "One small shower and people start panicking and going, 'is there going to be more? What am I going to do? Do I need to move? Is there going to be a slip? Are we going to have more trees down?' Just that heightened sense of anxiety." Tasman District Council group recovery manager Richard Kirby said a handful of homes remained cut off in the Graham Valley Road in the Motueka Valley and Hinetai Road, near Tapawera. Supplies had been dropped to those residents by helicopter last week, with another delivery planned for Thursday. "We are looking at alternative access for next week and particularly how we get groceries and food items to them if they can't get out and we're working on other plans rather than having to rely on choppers." Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Kirby said residents had been told not to walk across the large slip blocking Hinetai Road as there were concerns it was unstable, and a risk further material could come down. Geotechnical experts had assessed the site this week, which included abseiling parts of it, to see if it could be stabilised. In the Graham Valley, a section of road had been washed away by the river, almost right up to a cliff face. "It either has to be completely reinstated with some retaining walls and gabions which is a major cost, and that could take some time so it's not an easy fix. It'll probably take probably a month to six weeks at least before we can reinstate that." He said staff at the council were still trying to make contact with several homes in the Graham Valley North Branch Road, to check on their welfare and ascertain if they needed any supplies. Contractors were still working across the district to reopen roads, with around 30 closures still in place. That included the road over the Mārahau Hill, with four-wheel-drive access for residents and emergency services via Kaiteriteri. It hoped to have road access reinstated by Thursday. Network Tasman operations manager Robert Derks said power had been restored to most homes, after the second of two back-to-back storms cut electricity to around 3200 customers. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Two homes on Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road remained without power after a pole and transformer were wiped out in the storm nearly two weeks ago. The pole was located at the bottom of a valley and was also taken out in ex-Tropical Cyclone Gita in 2018, so a more stable site had been found, with Network Tasman aiming to reinstate it and have power restored by the end of the week. Another five homes in Gannet Heights, Kaiteriteri, had been reliant on a generator after a slump in the road cut their power and Derks said that supply would also be reconnected in coming days. NZTA Waka Kotahi said work to repair a number of state highways across Nelson and Tasman would take some time, with disruptions and delays likely to continue in some places through until the end of the year. Top of the South regional manager Mark Owen said geotechnical and site assessments were still underway on roads across the region. Three sites on the Tākaka Hill, State Highway 60, required remedial work, with part of the highway expected to be reduced to a single lane under stop/go traffic management until the end of the year. Work is needed to repair, scour, slip, and washouts on State Highway 6 between Belgrove to Kohatu, and an underslip site at Coal Creek near Owen River. At Spooners Saddle, contractors would begin removing trees at risk of falling onto the highway from Wednesday, with the section of road under stop/go management to allow the trees to be removed safely. Owen said a temporary road surface will be put in place at Kohatu, ahead of a full rebuild of the highway planned for this summer. Contractors would also begin removing trees and other debris from underneath the Motueka River Bridge, as soon as water levels were low enough for diggers to operate in the riverbed. Meanwhile Chorus said it had postponed repairs to the damaged fibre cable at Lindsays Bridge in Tākaka ahead of more rain forecast for the top of the South Island next week. Rats chewed through the cable earlier this month, affecting 111 calls and internet and mobile coverage. A permanent fix was planned for Thursday night, but Golden Bay residents would not be able to contact 111 while the work is carried out. Chorus says the temporary fix has worked well in recent storms and it wants to give the community time to plan and prepare before any further disruption. Technicians would continue to monitor the temporary fix. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

2 days ago

RNZ News