Latest news with #NelsonTasman
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Twelve cases of Campylobacter reported in Nelson Tasman districts following severe flooding
Flooding in Nelson Tasman may have led to an outbreak of Campylobacter. Photo: Supplied/ Jodie Reed There have been 12 cases of Campylobacter reported in the Nelson Tasman districts over the past month, as the region deals with the aftermath of two severe flood events , Health NZ (HNZ) says. All bore water owners were asked to continue to boil their water as a precaution. Medical officer of health of the National Public Health Service, Dr Alexandra Greig, said it was an increase in gastrointestinal illness for the region compared to the same period in previous years. Dr Greig said seven of the 12 cases were potentially related to drinking water. However, Greig said the analysis could not directly link the outbreak to contamination caused by the flooding. "This analysis cannot differentiate flood-associated drinking water exposures from other drinking water exposures." HNZ earlier said floodwater and silt could be contaminated with faeces, and agricultural or industrial waste, and often carried bugs that could cause gastrointestinal illnesses. It said the number of cases does not capture people who had managed their symptoms at home without seeing a doctor. The National Public Health Service in Nelson-Marlborough would continue to enhance surveillance for gastrointestinal cases in the region that may be associated with flooding, given the increased risks in the area, the agency said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
MetService says location of new Tasman rain radar still to be decided
The Lower Waimea River in the aftermath of Tasman-Nelson floods, New Zealand. Photo: Tim Cuff / POOL MetService says a new rain radar will get around the mountainous terrain and known blackspots in Nelson-Tasman, but its exact location is yet to be decided. The government said work would begin immediately to procure a new radar for the top of the region - which has endured repeated floods caused by heavy rain - with the aim to have it up and running by the start of 2027 . A new radar would cost MetService up to $5 million, with operating costs of around $800,000 a year. MetService general manager of observing systems Kevin Alder told Morning Report the Wellington radar that was being used for the top of the South Island - although geographically close - was imperfect. "Its coverage over Nelson is blocked in the lower elevations by the terrain of the Richmond Ranges which are around 1500 metres, 5000 feet high. "And so, we really can't see into Tasman Bay and the surrounding areas." He said a radar on the ground in the area would solve that problem, and MetService would work with the district councils to secure "the best possible site" for it. While the initial weather warning would be the same, it added in the detail once the weather system hit, he said. "It gives much better information to emergency managers as the event unfolds and particularly the timing of when an event is going to end. "We can track the rainfall, the severe weather in real time with the radar, and really help with those immediate decisions during the event." Alder said the complex technology and associated infrastructure accounted for the multi-million dollar price tag. "We normally have to put them on a tower and all the supporting infrastructure for it, with communication and data links - it all adds up." He said although weather systems could be monitored from space, ground-based radar were the best detection method for an area. "You'd have to have a lot of satellites in space to cover New Zealand." The announcement at the weekend came after years of campaigning, with the region considered a blank spot in the national radar coverage. Associate Transport Minister James Meager said the community had been asking for a radar, and its installation would not only give locals "peace of mind", but would help them better prepare for future disasters. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said Nelson-Tasman had been in five states of emergency since 2011, and a new weather radar would help emergency managers better monitor rainfall and flooding risk - "reducing the risk of loss of life and property". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
Nelson-Tasman region to get its own rain radar by 2027
Aerial images showing the extent of flooding in Tasman. Photo: Tim Cuff / POOL The government says the flood-hit Nelson-Tasman region should have its own weather radar by the start of 2027. The region, which has endured repeated floods caused by heavy rain in recent weeks, as well as five states of emergency in the past 14 years, does not have its own rain radar . Associate Transport Minister James Meager said the existing contract with MetService was being amended to immediately begin the procurement of a new radar for the region. MetService was aiming to purchase it by next Autumn and get it operational that summer, in late 2026 or early 2027. A new radar will cost up to $5 million, with operating costs of around $800,000 a year. Immediate work will begin using existing MetService funding. The radar would help better prepare the community for future disasters, Meager said. "This is something the community has asked for, and it's my hope the investment will give locals peace of mind over their individual and property safety in future events. "Weather radars play an incredibly important role in emergency management once an event starts. They allow forecasters to monitor the progression of a storm, refine short-term forecasts and warnings, and provide specific guidance to emergency managers about the distribution and intensity of rainfall." Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said Nelson-Tasman had experienced several high-impact flooding events in recent years. "Since 2011, there have been five states of emergency declared in the region. Providing Nelson-Tasman with a new weather radar will give emergency managers greater ability to monitor rainfall and flooding risk during a severe weather event, reducing the risk of loss of life and property. "In addition to the new weather radar, the government has committed to strengthening the emergency management system to ensure it is fit for purpose to manage significant, widespread emergencies. "Investments in modern technology and trained personnel, along with clear governance structures and assurance, will ensure faster, more effective emergency management." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Hawke's Bay shares cyclone silt, slash lessons with flood-hit Tasman
Mud and silt at Jim Papps home in Dovedale. Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ The head of the $228 million silt removal programme after Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawke's Bay is drawing "eerie" similarities with Nelson Tasman region, as the flood-hit areas look ahead to their own recovery. Communities across the top of the South Island were facing millions of dollars worth of damage to roading infrastructure, farmland and properties, following the two recent floods that struck the area within a two week period, from late June. Riverside properties in Tasman were grappling with woody debris, silt and waste strewn across their properties. Cyclone Gabrielle smashed Aotearoa in February 2023 with a force of heavy rain which caused flooding damaging infrastructure, properties and land on the North Island's East Coast. Thick silt and upended tractors lie at the front of Pheasant Farm, Esk Valley, in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: RNZ / Jemima Huston Twelve people died during the natural disaster. Large amounts of silt, forestry slash and waste were swept across the whenua, prompting councils across Hawke's Bay to set up an immediate regional taskforce to deal with the material. Shane Fell says the floodwater left more than 500 tonnes of silt on the property. Photo: Supplied Taskforce lead Darren de Klerk said watching the news, there were similar scenes in Tasman as there were in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti following the cyclone. "It's quite an eerie similarity, I think when you look at some of the woody debris and some of the silt and mixed product that we had to deal with," he said. "Obviously, productive land is another similarity in the fact that a lot of the highly productive horticulture and viticulture land has been infected." De Klerk said after an emergency, the early stages of recovery were usually shrouded in uncertainty. "In the early days, anyone dealing with this will find it quite overwhelming," he said. "Firstly, it's just understanding the level of involvement that either Civil Defence or the council has in this recovery." De Klerk said it broke Hawke's Bay up into six zones, triaged properties by severity, and then mapped out sorting and disposal sites, in efforts to "chomp the elephant" one bit at a time. Since its beginning, the team moved more than 2.5 million cubic metres of silt across more than 1100 properties, returning around 7000 hectares of land to productivity. It cleared one million cubic metres of woody debris across the coastline and rivers, and sorted through 12,500 broken orchard and vineyard posts. He said in Hawke's Bay, councils had to "take a leap" to support their communities, before the first round of government funding was announced several months after the event, in May 2023. "Essentially, you don't have a rule book," he said. "From a community point of view, I can guarantee you the people behind the scenes are working as absolutely as hard as they possibly can to find solutions." Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone He said it was working with Tasman officials to share insights and avoid "re-inventing the wheel". "One of the biggest probably learning is just how you manage your contractor army," de Klerk said. "Having a standby list of contractors available, so you're not having to work through the procurement and contracting of suppliers in the heat of the recovery phase. "My thoughts are with them and they'll be trying their absolute best." De Klerk said the work must be methodical, and open communication with locals was vital. He was now working for the Hastings District Council on its ongoing water and roading infrastructure cyclone recovery. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Families remain isolated in parts of Motueka Valley following Nelson Tasman floods
Nearly 30 families remain isolated in the Motueka Valley as the Nelson Tasman region transitions into recovery , after two floods weeks apart caused widespread damage. The state of emergency, which was declared on July 10, expires on Thursday with the region moving into a transition period for the next month. About 28 families were cut off in parts of the Motueka Valley where damaged roads were impassable and could remain so for several months, Tasman District Council group recovery manager Richard Kirby said. The residents in Graham Valley Rd, Hinetai Rd and the Wangapeka West Bank Rd had been delivered supplies by helicopter and the focus over the coming days was to reassess their needs and look at whether emergency access could be put in place. "The couple of roads that we're talking about are fairly major and may not be repaired for two or three months so we need to also look and see what sort of access we can put in, alternative access, if we can. "Most of them are lifestyle blocks and small sections so we've been talking to them and finding out what they need and dropping it off and we will continue that during the recovery period." Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi As of Wednesday, 10 homes had been red stickered, 42 yellow stickered and 48 white stickered, which meant further assessment was needed, with Nelson Tasman Civil Defence currently providing accommodation for 12 people following both floods. The district received two months of rain in a 48-hour period from June 27 and the scale of damage was exacerbated in the second flood on July 11, which was smaller but resulted in greater damage caused by high winds and saturated ground. Kirby said there were still 40-odd road closures across the district, with contractors working across the roading network to reinstate one-way access wherever possible. "There will be a big job to come back and do the final repairs, that work is likely to take probably 12 to 18 months, maybe two years to actually fully recover from." The other area of focus was stabilising the river network, ahead of the long range forecast predicting more heavy rain in the months ahead, but Kirby said full repairs and work with landowners on private properties adjacent to rivers likely to take years. "The rivers team are just highlighting where the urgent areas are so if there is any more heavy rain, we minimise further erosion and further damage, but it's fair to say that we're not going to get the rivers in any state ready for major floods for at least two, three, four years." The ground in Motueka Valley is sodden. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Six households in the region remained without power after the most recent flood, Network Tasman operations manager Robert Derks said, with work underway to reconnect most of them before the weekend. About 3200 households were left without power in last Friday's storm. Three homes in Hinetai Rd and surrounds, two homes in Riwaka-Sandy Bay Rd and one in Teapot Valley Rd remained without power. Derks said the power poles at the Mārahau site in Riwaka-Sandy Bay Rd had been wiped out by a slip and needed to be rebuilt before the power could be reinstated. The same site had been wiped out by ex-Tropical Cyclone Gita in 2018. Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle's Greg Knapp had been collecting debris from the Motueka Sandspit after the Tasman District Council and civil defence got in touch to see if he had a vessel to assist with the clean up from the first flood. "Basically looking for anything that is not meant to be in the sea, tanalised posts, timber, apple bins, hail netting, fridges, I even found a kid's Ninja is all sorts out there, LPG bottles, you name it, it's all ended up out there." He's spent the last few weeks loading flood debris onto his barge, Astrolabe and almost had the spit cleaned up last week, only to have to start again after last Friday's flood. Knapp said the community had been amazing in pulling together to clean up after the floods. A number of churches in Motueka are co-ordinating a relief effort to provide affected families with essential items lost in the floods. Donations of clothes, shoes, household goods, kitchenware and furniture are being sought and can be dropped off at the Motueka Rec Centre on Saturday July 18 between 8.30am-9.30am with affected residents able to collect what they need between 12pm and 4pm. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
