Decisions made to save lives

Shell-shocked evacuees have been told Civil Defence’s highest priory is getting them back to their properties.

At 2.30pm yesterday, a meeting was held at Saxon Fields Sport Complex in Stoke for people evacuated from their homes or with properties impacted.

Tasman Mayor Tim King, Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese, Labour MP Rachel Boyack and representatives from government, emergency services, Te Tauihu iwi and Nelson Civil Defence spoke to and answered questions from around 250 homeowners and evacuees.

Reese said the week had been ‘‘challenging,’’ and she wanted to acknowledge the anxiety people must be feeling. ‘‘One of most important needs is helping you back into your homes and normal lives.’’

Many people had ‘‘stepped up’’, opened their doors, and put a ‘‘sheet on the spare bed’’. However, this was not a long term solution to the issues people were facing.

Civil Defence controller Alec Louverdis said the initial flooding of the Maitai River was unprecedented. ‘‘These three weather events surpassed anything. One is unpredicted, three alone – I can’t tell you what it means.’’

The decision to evacuate this amount of people was one he had not taken lightly, he said. ‘‘I made the decision to protect lives.’’

Civil Defence had recorded 570 properties impacted by the weather – 284 of these properties had been assessed by Urban Search and Rescue so far, with 264 listed as white, 11 yellow, and nine red.

The remaining would hopefully be assessed by Geotech and building officials by today 5pm.

Louverdis said he was aware the list of properties might grow. Currently, there were 130 major slips in the region.

The effect of the flooding upon infrastructure had been ‘‘immense’’. A key message was to conserve water, as the raw water coming to the Maitai treatment plant had been affected.

State Highway 6 would be closed for the foreseeable future, as a ‘‘major slip’’ had taken place around the Whangamoa Saddle, so there was no route between Blenheim and Nelson for the time being.

Louverdis reiterated that anyone who could work from home should do so, as this would allow emergency services to easier access critical sites. Some schools would be closed for the time being.

An independent office had been set up and staffed with volunteers to give information and advise when people could return home.

The controller asked that everyone registered their details with Civil Defence so they could be contacted about their properties.

‘‘It’s been a traumatic experience for a lot of people sitting here today. No matter how raw, we are here to help you.’’