Cleaning up flood damage in Tasman and Marlborough
More help to deal with the damage caused by flooding in Tasman and Marlborough is about to arrive in the form of the so-called "Enhanced Task Force Green."
The government has activated funds which means those on benefits in the area can volunteer to assist and become part of the group working to reverse some of the damage.
The Ministry for Social Development's Regional Commissioner for the area, Craig Churchill, says Enhanced Taskforce Green is entirely voluntary, but it will help those hit by flood damage and build skills for those taking part.
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RNZ News
16 hours ago
- RNZ News
Weather: MetService issues wind, rain warnings and watches to start week
MetService said there was a front moving east across the country which was expected to bring heavy rain and strong north to northeast winds. Photo: MetService In a gloomy start to the week several severe weather warnings have been issued, with high winds and heavy rain expected from late Monday into early Wednesday. MetService said there was a front moving east across the country which was expected to bring heavy rain, and strong north to northeast winds. Orange rain warnings were in place for the Tasman region from Motueka westwards, Tasman east and south of Motueka, Nelson and Marlborough west of Havelock and north of the Wairau River, Taranaki Maunga and the ranges of the Westland District. The warning for Tasman from Motueka westwards would be in place from 2am to 6pm on Tuesday, 29 July, and had a moderate chance of upgrading to a red warning. People in the region were to expect between 130mm and 150mm in a strong northerly flow. Rainfall intensities could reach 15 to 20mm per hour, especially from mid-morning until early afternoon, MetService said. Tasman east and south of Motueka, Nelson and Marlborough west of Havelock and north of the Wairau River would be under orange warning from 5am on Tuesday until 9pm, again with a moderate chance of becoming red. There, 100mm to 130 mm of rain in a strong northerly flow was expected, with rainfall intensities of 15mm per hour possible, especially during the afternoon. The Nelson Tasman region has already been gutted by two major floods since late last month and is in an official recovery period. Residents were advised to clear their drains and gutters to prepare for heavy rain, and to avoid low-lying areas and drive cautiously, MetService said. Taranaki Maunga was under orange warning from 7am on Tuesday to 1am Wednesday, while the ranges of Westland District were under the same from 1am to 5pm Tuesday. Both warnings had a minimal chance of upgrading to red. Heavy rain watches would also be in place for many regions around the motu between Monday and Tuesday, and in some cases through to Wednesday. Watches for the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and an area about and within 15km east of the Divide from Arthur's Pass to the Dart River had a high chance of upgrading to a warning, while those for for the Central North Island mountains, Northland and Auckland, including Great Barrier Island, all had a moderate chance of upgrading. Along with their rain watches, Northland, Auckland and Great Barrier Island would be under a strong wind watch from Monday evening, with both watches given a moderate chance of upgrading to warnings. Strong wind watches would also be in place for The Coromandel Peninsula, eastern Waikato and the Bay of Plenty for most of Tuesday, and about and south of the mountains and high-country from Taranaki to the Central Plateau from late Monday evening through to Tuesday evening. The Coromandel Peninsula, eastern Waikato and the Bay of Plenty had a moderate chance of upgrading to a warning, while the areas about and south of the mountains and high-country from Taranaki to the Central Plateau had a high chance of upgrading, MetService said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days 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
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Cleaning up flood damage in Tasman and Marlborough
An example of some of the widespread damage to roads and infrastructure in the Nelson Tasman areas. Photo: Supplied/ Nick Smith More help to deal with the damage caused by flooding in Tasman and Marlborough is about to arrive in the form of the so-called "Enhanced Task Force Green." The government has activated funds which means those on benefits in the area can volunteer to assist and become part of the group working to reverse some of the damage. The Ministry for Social Development's Regional Commissioner for the area, Craig Churchill, says Enhanced Taskforce Green is entirely voluntary, but it will help those hit by flood damage and build skills for those taking part.
