State Of Emergency Extended In Nelson Tasman
The decision to extend the emergency status has been made due to the weather forecast of further heavy rain in the next 24 to 36 hours. It will enable a rapid response from partnering agencies should it be required.
Civil Defence Emergency Controller Alec Louverdis says the New Zealand Defence Force has been deployed in the area and ready to respond when needed.
He says an Air Force NH90 helicopter is also on standby to assist if required.
Alec Louverdis says support is also being provided by two specialist NZRT2 - Nelson Tasman Emergency Response Teams and further emergency operations staff have been drafted in from around the country to assist.
Two community meetings are being organised to update people in Riwaka and Ngatimoti on Saturday.
In Riwaka the meeting will be at the Riwaka Memorial Hall from 12.00pm-2.00pm at the Riwaka Memorial Hall, and in Ngatimoti the meeting will be from 3.00pm until 5.00pm at the Ngatimoti Hall.
These meetings will provide an opportunity for Nelson Tasman Civil Defence to give an update on the current situation and for people to speak directly to Tasman District Council, government agencies and support organisations.
Meanwhile, generosity from all around the country has seen donations to the Nelson-Tasman Mayoral Relief Fund grow to close to $20,000, which will be added to the $100,000 pledged by the Government.
To make a donation people can deposit funds into the Tasman District Council bank account:
Account number: 12-3193-0002048-00
Account name: Tasman District Council
Please use the reference 'Mayoral Relief Fund', or 'MRF'
Alternatively, people can donate at a Tasman District Council office.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
05-08-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Hercules on 'medical evacuation' mission in Antarctica
Photo: NZDF A New Zealand Defence Force Hercules left Christchurch on Tuesday night to conduct a "medical evacuation" in Antarctica. The plane took off on the rare mid-winter mission to the McMurdo Station, which is operated by the United States Antarctic Programme, The Press reported. 'A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J Hercules departed Christchurch (on Tuesday) evening to support the United States Antarctic Programme with a medical evacuation from McMurdo Station,' an NZDF spokesperson told The Press. 'Flights at this time of the year are very challenging and so the aircraft may still turn back if the weather conditions in Antarctica are not suitable.' The spokesperson said they planned to share more details about the mission on Wednesday morning.
NZ Herald
30-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Nelson Tasman floods: Riwaka farmer battles silt and debris after heavy rains
He estimated that they received about 270mm of rain over three days from July 11. 'It was quite intrusive, because it went inside the house, which we've never had before, and it's in our packing shed and our tool gear. 'We're quite fortunate that we don't have to dig out any fruit trees, it's just lying on an open paddock that we grew a crop of beans in last year, so we can just avoid using that this summer, and it'll give us time to push it out. Most of that silt is quite fertile and usable.' Hickmott said the property often flooded when the Riuwaka River levels were high. Although that had not been the case this time around, many residents felt the stopbanks were inadequate and that the river's management could be improved. Some fences on Frank Hickmott's property were knocked flat and others damaged in the second of two floods to hit Tasman in the past month. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii The damage to their farm was worse than during ex-tropical Cyclone Gita. 'There's certainly more debris, a lot of regenerating native debris that's floated onto the paddocks, the odd pine log with roots on and the odd stump out of pine trees that have been milled where the ground has slumped afterwards.' He said it was difficult to estimate the cost of the damage. Several fences had been wiped out and others damaged. Some of the debris pulled out of the creek on Hickmott's property. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii His insurance company said it would cover up to $20,000 for fencing, but that wouldn't cover all the work that was needed. 'We've spent a bit on a digger clearing fences and getting the creek back in because it came fully out of its course and was running around our house for three days, so we had to divert that back into where it should be.' River management across Tasman after the floods Thorn Rd, alongside the Dove River, remains closed after it was damaged in the recent floods. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii Tasman District Council said that, as a unitary authority, it managed and maintained 285 kilometres of larger waterways, including the Motueka, Wai-iti, Waimea, Dove, Aorere and Tākaka Rivers. The majority of smaller rivers and tributaries had no active management or ongoing maintenance. However, as the recent bad weather had affected properties and land next to rivers and waterways of all sizes, it had begun a tree and debris clean-up on some of the smaller catchments, including the Pigeon Valley Stream, Eighty Eight Valley Stream, Pretty Bridge Valley Stream, Stanley Brook and others. The clean-up would be done alongside recovery work in the large waterways. During the recovery phase, the council said long-term commitment to river work and community collaboration would be needed to repair flood damage and make the district's rivers more resilient to future floods. Mayoral relief fund Contractors clear debris from drains on Dehra Doon Rd, in Riwaka. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii The Government gave $100,000 to the Nelson Tasman Mayoral Relief Fund after the June 27 flood, followed by a further $300,000 after the July 11 flood, tagged to the rural sector. The fund was open to Nelson City and Tasman District residents, ratepayers or not-for-profit organisations who had suffered financial hardship because of the floods. Tasman District Council said the fund was now at $624,000, thanks to the Government and community donations. Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the Mayoral Relief Panel met on Wednesday to consider and approve grants to 24 families affected by the last two storms. The fund was not a substitute for support from insurance companies, the Natural Hazards Commission, the Accident Compensation Corporation or the Ministry of Social Development, but was intended to help with incidental costs as people recovered, he said. It included the cost of flood-damaged items such as bedding, clothing, toys, fencing, appliances, outbuildings, paddock and crop damage, stock feed, equipment, driveways and vehicles. The minimum grant was $200, and it could cover up to 50% of an insurance excess. A separate Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) fund of $340,000 was available to help farmers and orchardists. People could apply to both funds for different losses. Smith said the two funds were being co-ordinated, but the MPI fund had a separate panel with agricultural expertise. Both mayors said anyone affected by the recent storms could apply for support until August 8. - RNZ
RNZ News
30-07-2025
- RNZ News
Nelson Tasman floods: 'It was quite intrusive because it went inside the house'
Frank Hickmott stands in the creek that runs through his Riwaka property and changed course in the 11 July flood. Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal A Riwaka farmer says he's used to flooding, but the last few weeks have been unlike anything he's seen before. Frank Hickmott has lived in Riwaka, a small settlement in the Tasman District, his whole life, where he farms vegetables and fruit with his brother Stewart. He said their property received another 100 millimetres of rain yesterday, which fell atop a thick layer of silt and sludge that was spread across his land during the last flood. They had "dodged a bullet' in the 27 June storm, but during the heavy rain two weeks later, a creek at the back of the farm became blocked and later burst, sending debris from down the hilllside and over part of their property. He estimated that they received around 270mm of rain over three days from 11 July . "It was quite intrusive because it went inside the house, which we've never had before, and it's in our packing shed and our tool gear." Some of the debris pulled out of the creek on Hickmott's property. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii He said it was lucky the silt hadn't crossed the road and entered their kiwifruit and pear orchard. "We're quite fortunate that we don't have to dig out any fruit trees, it's just laying on an open paddock that we grew a crop of beans in last year so we can just avoid using that this summer and it'll give us time to push it out, most of that silt is quite fertile and usable." Hickmott said the property often flooded when the Riuwaka River levels were high and although that hadn't been the case this time around, many residents felt the stopbanks were inadequate and the river's management could be better. The damage to their farm was worse than what they experienced in ex-Tropical Cyclone Gita. Some fences on Frank Hickmott's property were knocked flat and others damaged in the second of two floods to hit Tasman in the last month. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii "There's certainly more debris, a lot of regenerating native debris that's floated onto the paddocks, the odd pine log with roots on and the odd stump out of pine trees that have been milled where the ground has slumped afterwards." He said it was difficult to estimate the cost of the damage to the farm. A number of fences had been wiped out with others damaged. His insurance company said it would cover up to $20,000 for fencing, but that wouldn't cover all the work that was needed. "We've spent a bit on a digger clearing fences and getting the creek back in because it came fully out of its course and was running around our house for three days, so we had to divert that back into where it should be." Contractors clear debris from drains on Dehra Doon Rd, in Riwaka. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii The Tasman District Council said as a unitary authority, it looked after the district's river with 285 kilometres of the larger waterways, including the Motueka, Wai-iti, Waimea, Dove, Aorere and Tākaka Rivers, actively managed and maintained. The majority of smaller rivers and tributaries had no active management or ongoing maintenance, but as the recent weather had affected properties and land next to rivers and waterways of all sizes, it had begun a tree and debris cleanup on some of the smaller catchments, including the Pigeon Valley Stream, Eighty Eight Valley Stream, Pretty Bridge Valley Stream, Stanley Brook and others. That work would be done alongside major river recovery work in the large waterways, following a similar plan of an initial post-flood cleanup and repair of the most vulnerable areas. During the recovery phase, the council said long-term commitment to river work and community collaboration would be needed to repair flood damage and make the district's rivers more resilient to future floods. Thorn Road, alongside the Dove River, remains closed after it was damaged in the recent floods. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii The government donated $100,000 to the Nelson/Tasman Mayoral Relief Fund after the 27 June flood followed by another $300,000 following the 11 July flood, tagged to the rural sector. The fund was open to Nelson City and Tasman District residents, ratepayers or not-for-profit organisations who had suffered financial hardship because of the June/July flood events. The Tasman District Council said the fund was now at $624,000, thanks to the government and community donations. Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the Mayoral Relief Panel met on Wednesday to consider and approve grants to 24 families impacted by the last two storms. The Tasman District was hit by two devastating floods, two weeks apart, causing widespread damage to homes and businesses. Photo: Tim Cuff / POOL He said the fund was not a substitute for insurance, Natural Hazards Commission, ACC or MSD income support but was able to help with incidental costs as people recovered. It included the cost of flood damaged items like bedding, clothing, toys, fencing, appliances, outbuildings, paddock and crop damage, stock feed, equipment, driveways and motor vehicles. The minimum grant was $200 and it could cover up to 50 per cent of an insurance excess. A separate MPI fund of $340,000 was available to help farmers and orchardists recover and people were able to apply to both funds for different losses. He said the two funds were being coordinated but the MPI fund had a separate panel with agricultural expertise. Both mayors said anyone affected by the recent storms needing help could apply for support up until 8 August.
