Child dies in Spain as Europe continues to swelter in early summer heatwave
Withering conditions that have baked southern Europe for days crept northward where such extremes are much rarer, with Paris
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Scoop
33 minutes ago
- Scoop
Drivers Urged To Be Ready For Poor Weather On Upper North Island Roads
With Heavy Rain and Strong Wind Warnings in place for the several North Island regions, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is urging drivers to take extra care on the roads and check for the latest road conditions before travelling. Wet roads can be slippery, so road users should reduce their speed, increase their following distances, and be prepared for the possibility of slips, rockfalls, and flooding. Strong winds can be hazardous for trucks, vans, campervans, towing vehicles, and motorcycles. Road users should be prepared for sudden gusts, crosswinds, fallen trees, and wind-blown debris – particularly in exposed areas. With weather watches or warnings in place for parts of Northland, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Tairawhiti, Taumaranui/Taupo and Taranaki, people traveling throughout the Upper North Island need to stay up to date on road and weather conditions. Road conditions can change without warning, and routes can be closed at short notice due to slips and flooding.
Scoop
38 minutes ago
- Scoop
Communications During Emergencies
Emergency events can cause disruption to our lives, making staying connected during these critical times more important than ever. Understanding the challenges of technology during an emergency event and taking steps to be prepared can help you stay connected to loved ones, emergency services, and access vital information. The telecommunications sector works closely alongside other critical infrastructure providers to restore service and make the networks more resilient in the case of emergency events. If communication networks are affected though, being informed and prepared can make a big difference. The Telecommunications Forum has prepared a fact sheet to help communities and customers prepare for emergency events, says CEO Paul Brislen. 'No public utility is 100% completely infallible – whether that is telecommunications, roading, energy, or water. During extreme weather events outages can occur and consumers need to be prepared to be without telecommunications potentially for an extended period of time.' Emergency calling can be disrupted but customers are advised that if they need to call 111 for emergency services they should try regardless of whether their phones have network connectivity. 'Emergency calls can be carried by other mobile networks so even if your phone says it has no signal customers should try to make that call as it could be picked up by another provider.' New Zealand telecommunications companies work together to support each other's networks during extreme events and work alongside government agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency and Civil Defence to support local communities. One New Zealand has launched a text message via satellite service trial which is available to all mobile customers. The TCF Fact sheet is available to download: TCF Fact sheet – Communications during an emergency: How you can prepare for disruptions to telecommunications networks Stay informed by following weather warnings and updates from official channels and check that your phone can receive emergency mobile alerts to stay up to date in the face of extreme natural events. Listen to updates from the radio and pay attention to advisories from civil defence. Plan ahead by considering how you will communicate if your mobile, landline and internet services are not available. Take the time to prepare an emergency plan and communicate early with whanau about your plans before you need to act on them. Keep a portable battery powered radio with a spare set of batteries in your emergency kit, so you can stay up to date with emergency information. Consider investing in power banks or solar chargers to allow you to keep your device charged. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can keep telecommunications services available for a period of time after a loss of power. Download or print important information like maps, emergency contacts, and offline apps can also make important information readily available on your device even if you lose internet connection. Consider investing in power banks or solar chargers to allow you to keep your device charged. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can keep telecommunications services available for a period of time after a loss of power. Conserve resources by limiting non-essential calls and data usage during peak demand periods to prioritise emergency communication and keep connected with neighbours and community resources for support and updates. Use text messages instead of calls for short and essential messages. Finally, Emergency services, mobile, landline and internet service providers will be working hard to reconnect you, but it may take time so be prepared.
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Flood-hit Nelson-Tasman braces for next big storm
As much as 120mm of rain could fall, especially inland. In the area east of Whakatāne up to 130mm is expected in the 22 hours from noon tomorrow while as much as 150mm to 200mm could fall in the ranges. There's also a a new orange warning for Tai Rāwhiti/Gisborne north of Ruatoria which might receive 150mm to 200mm in the ranges, and less on the coast. It will start around 4pm tomorrow going through until noon on Friday. Heavy rain watches are in place for Northland (from 3am to 8pm tomorrow) and Auckland (9am to 9pm), and in Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula (9am-11pm). Northland's rain may also be accompanied by thunderstorms. The entire upper North Island is also warned to expect strong winds with watches in place. Taranaki and the central North Island will not escape the storm either. An orange warning forecasts heavy rain for the ranges from 11am-7pm. The Tongariro National Park is also in the firing line all day with up to 130mm forecast. Meanwhile, people in Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taupō and North Taranaki should also be prepared for rain over the 12 hours from noon. Snow might affect the South island too with a heavy snow watch issued for Canterbury south of the Rangitata River, Queenstown Lakes District and Central Otago tomorrow. It could be heavy above 600 metres. State Highway 8 (the Lindis Pass) is also under a snowfall warning, with up to 20cm expected around the summit. Snow could fall on the Crown Range Road near Queenstown also. The unsettled weather is expected to hang around until Saturday. Flood-hit regions prepare for 'worst-case scenario' Civil Defence in the Nelson-Tasman region is racing to prepare for another big storm, which is expected to hit on Thursday morning. The district is still dealing with a huge clean up after last week's heavy rain, which caused rivers to burst their banks, flooding hundreds of homes, closing roads, and destroying farmland. Tasman mayor Tim King said there was a massive amount of work to be done in very little time. "There's every effort being made both to give people enough information to make their own decisions about whether they might want to evacuate. "And physical work in the rivers, on the roads, around bridges - to as best as possible prepare for the worst-case scenario." He urged residents - particularly those who have been hit by flooding - to do whatever was necessary to limit potential damage. "If you're in an area that's subject to flooding or the impacts of heavy rain, if you're in any of those situations, preparation is crucially important, having a plan is important. "If sandbagging is something that you believe you need to do then get on to it." King said more rain on top of what they'd already had would be "challenging". "The level of destruction in a lot of the rural parts of our region is absolutely immense. "The stress amongst people trying to firstly to clean up and deal with what they already have to deal with, plus the thought of more rain, has a massive impact." Residents upset over blocked road Meanwhile, a Marlborough resident says a shifting wall of mud and rock is still blocking access to his property and at least 100 others. A big slip came down across Northbank Road on Monday night and is yet to be cleared. Alistair Drew lives on the north bank of the Wairau River, with a narrow, muddy walking track as the only access. He said residents were anxious about how long they will be stuck, with more rain on the way. "This is not just mud, it's basically large rocks the size of a van that's come down across the road that's blocking Northbank Road and on one edge there's the Onamalutu River that flows through." Drew said he was lucky to have stocked up on supplies, but others might be running short. The Marlborough District Council said work to clear the slip will start as soon as it's safe. Mayor King said reinforcements from the army and Fire and Emergency were being deployed to communities at risk of being cut off, and expressed frustration that some areas were still without internet or phone coverage. "It is massively frustrating that we are five days into an event and still there are areas - not highly isolated areas - but areas very close to our urban centres that have no reliable coverage. "Which makes it very difficult to get information out to people and for people to provide us with information." He said he wanted to see an urgent fix, especially ahead of Thursday's forecast storm. A resident in Wakefield who lost internet and mobile phone reception said the lack of communication meant she had no idea a state of emergency had been declared in Nelson-Tasman. Sarah Farmer said the storm knocked out coverage in her area and she left the house on Friday morning unaware of how severe it was. "We were on the road packed up going to school, and it wasn't till we got round the corner and saw all the floods, and we're like, 'we can't even cross this road'. "Turned around... and I just thought this is just adding so much risk, people are going out on the roads with no idea of how serious it is." Farmer said a Starlink set up by a local meal delivery charity - The Big Bake-Up - had helped restore communication to some people. The Big Bake-Up founder Melissa Woodhouse said the group immediately swung into action on Friday. She said in addition to the Starlink, they had been dropping home-cooked meals and baking - including bacon and egg pies and scones with cream and jam - to flood-hit homes. She said many of those people were still reeling from the damage caused by floodwaters. "Most of the people we've spoken to are just quite upset and anxious about the weather. I guess we'll never know who and where it's going to hit, so just that not knowing..." Woodhouse said residents were tossing up how much to clean up ahead of Thursday's forecast heavy rain.
