Latest news with #TasmanDistrict
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
Severe weather warnings for South Island as burst of wet, windy weather looms
A front bringing heavy rain and gales sweeps across the South Island. Photo: Photo / 123RF The number of weather warnings and watches across the country has increased as a front bringing heavy rain and gales sweeps across the South Island. MetService has updated its orange heavy rain warnings for the Tasman district north-west of Motueka, the headwaters of the Canterbury and Otago lakes and rivers, the ranges of the Westland district and Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound from Wednesday. The heaviest falls are now expected in the Tasman District northwest of Motueka, with up to 300mm of rain forecast from midnight Wednesday, with peak rates of 20 to 30mm/h from midday Thursday and thunderstorms possible. MetService said there was uncertainty about the duration of the heavy rain and a moderate chance it would be upgraded to a red warning. The Tasman District Council said the heaviest rain was expected to start falling in the west of the region from midday Thursday and build through into Friday morning across to the ranges behind Nelson and Richmond. The hydrology team said it looked to be a moderate event, but there was uncertainty around the amount and duration of the rainfall and with the possibility of thunderstorms, it was prudent to plan for higher floods than expected. With rain coming from the northwest, moderate flood flows were expected in the Aorere, Tākaka and Riwaka/Brooklyn catchments. In Nelson, the Maitai, Wairoa and Waimea Rivers, including tributaries, were expected to reach annual flood levels. A 4.3m-high tide predicted for Nelson late Thursday night was expected to occur before the Maitai and Waimea rivers reached their peak flows. "Overall [it's] not a massive rainfall event but with any forecast like this should be planning for the impacts of some of these short sharp downpours as they may occur anywhere in these areas during this time period." MetService's severe weather warnings and watches. Photo: MetService In Canterbury, between 160 to 210 mm of rain was expected to fall about the main divide and in Otago, between 150 to 200 mm of rain. Heavy rain watches in place for Taranaki, Marlborough north of Seddon and Buller have a high chance of being upgraded to orange warnings, alongside heavy rain watches for Nelson and Tasman, southeast of Motueka and the ranges of the Grey District. Strong wind watches remain in place for Marlborough and Wellington, Canterbury high country, the Queenstown Lakes District, Central Otago, Southland north of Lumsden and Fiordland from Wednesday. Waka Kotahi said motorists in the upper South Island should be prepared for bad weather on state highways in the region, particularly State Highway 60 in Tākaka and Golden Bay given the orange heavy rain warning in the Tasman District. 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
- Climate
- RNZ News
Weather: Heavy rain, winds forecast to hammer South Island
The heaviest falls are expected in the Westland ranges with 180 to 220 mm of rain forecast. Photo: Supplied/MetService A number of weather warnings are in place for much of the South Island, as a front bringing heavy rain and gales moves across the country. MetService has issued orange heavy rain warnings for the headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers, the Tasman district north-west of Motueka, the Westland district and Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound from Wednesday. The heaviest falls are expected in the Westland ranges with 180 to 220 mm of rain forecast from Wednesday morning. In the Tasman district, between 150 to 200 mm of rain was expected about the ranges, with lesser amounts nearer the coast. In Otago, between 150 to 200 mm of rain was expected to fall about the main divide. MetService said surface flooding and slips were possible in those areas, and warned drivers to be aware of difficult driving conditions. Severe Weather Warnings and Watches issued for heavy rain and northwest gales over southern and central parts of Aotearoa New Zealand. ️️ All the details here @NZcivildefence @nztamain @tasmandc @nelsoncitynz @ECan Yellow rain warnings are in place for the ranges of Buller and Grey District. Buller District has a high change of being upgraded to a warning. Strong wind watches are also in place for the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington, the Canterbury High Country, the Queenstown Lakes District, Central Otago, Fiordland and Southland. Malborough Sounds has a high chance of being upgraded to a warning. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
02-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Nicolas Shaun Miller's ‘cry for help' exposes serious addiction to child exploitation material
First published on Tracy Neal , Open Justice multimedia journalist Nicolas Miller told the police after he tried to take his own life that he had a 'serious addiction to child porn' and was afraid his offending would worsen. He has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Photo: Open Justice via New Zealand Herald / Tracy Neal Warning: This story covers topics including online child exploitation and attempted suicide that may be upsetting to some readers. A man's attempt at taking his own life opened a Pandora's Box on his addiction to child exploitation material. Now a judge has deemed the man's quick confession to the police was a cry for help but said it didn't excuse his actions. Nicolas Shaun Miller told the police after they found thousands of items of objectionable material on his computer that he had a "serious addiction" to what he called "child porn". The confession to the police came about in "unusual circumstances", Judge Jo Rielly recently said in the Nelson District Court. Crown prosecutor Daniel Baxter said it was a sad situation for all involved. Defence lawyer Mark Dollimore said in some ways, Miller's addiction had almost killed him. The 31-year-old had been living alone in a caravan in Murchison, in the southern Tasman District, in what Dollimore described as "squalid conditions". Miller said he led a "boring, monotonous life", and, when he was not working, he played video games and drank to excess. He no longer had much contact with family, he was alone and isolated, Dollimore said. He said that on 17 November last year when Miller had tried to end his life he had consumed cannabis, watched pornography and the reality of his situation and his addiction had overwhelmed him. Miller was taken to Nelson Hospital and treated for serious self-inflicted wounds. "He came very close to killing himself. It was touch and go for him in ICU," Dollimore said. Miller later said he had tried to take his own life because he knew he had a serious problem that he struggled with, but didn't know where to reach out for help. Miller believed his addiction might lead to contact offending with a child which he feared he might not be able to resist, and that he favoured a "particular type" which he himself found abhorrent, Judge Rielly said. She said Miller's effort to speak up was a cry for help, but it didn't excuse the illegal behaviour. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on seven charges, one of which was a representative charge, of knowingly possessing an objectionable publication. It wasn't until after mental health services had assessed Miller in November that a police investigation followed and he was charged. Miller had told a mental health staff member that he had been viewing "child porn" for the previous two or three years, and the police were notified. After a search of his address, several electronic items, including a computer tower, were seized. Forensic examination of the tower suggested it contained objectionable material on about 16,000 files. A subsequent search confirmed 14,146 items as objectionable. Miller had also accessed websites that had bestiality content on them. The representative charge covered an "extensive number" of images found on a hard drive, some of which were classified as the most serious of their type. Miller told the police that he viewed the images daily because they "excited him" but he knew he had a major problem. Miller also told the police he understood that viewing child exploitation material was not a victimless crime, and that children endured "horrific atrocities" in the making of such material, fuelled by viewers such as himself. Dollimore said Miller had "fessed up" early and had co-operated with the police in every way he could, and that he was desperate for help. Baxter said it was Miller's honesty that led to his offending coming to light, and the Crown was not opposed to credit being given for Miller's request for help. Judge Rielly said that from everything Miller had said, not only was he feeling extremely low about himself, but he was also very concerned about where his addiction might lead him. Judge Rielly said Miller also knew his behaviour could change for the worse and he did not want that to happen. In setting a prison starting point at five years, Judge Rielly said although Miller's relationship with his family was now strained, he had not sought to blame anything about his background for his offending. He was given credit for his early guilty plea and for demonstrating his remorse, his shame, his insight into the offending and his readiness to rehabilitate, to arrive at a sentence of three-and-a-half years on the representative charge and two-and-a-half years on the remaining charges, to be served concurrently. Miller was automatically registered as a child sex offender. If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. -This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
