Flood reaction to be reviewed

NAPIER: A review will be launched into the response to the flood that battered Napier two weeks ago, the city’s mayor announced yesterday.

At a Hawke’s Bay regional civil defence committee meeting, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise told her fellow Hawke’s Bay mayors she wanted to assess the response and identify ways they could work together in future events.

‘‘From my perspective, I think that it was great that everybody piled in and got on with what needed to be done.’’

Clarity was needed of the various roles of those involved to ensure maximum efficiency, ‘‘but I certainly felt well supported by CDEM [Civil Defence and Emergency Management] and all of the emergency services involved in the response’’.

In tears at the end of the meeting, she said it had been ‘‘a tough couple of weeks’’.

‘‘This is a reflection of my tiredness and some of our staff. There’s still a lot of work to be done and I’ve got some good meetings planned this week to start working towards that. My heart just goes out to our community.’’

As of yesterday, 115 dwellings had been deemed uninhabitable and 55 families were staying at Kennedy Park in Napier and Angus Inn in Hastings. — RNZ