Gita a reminder to prepare
Taranaki farmers are being urged to prepare for future extreme weather events after ex-cyclone Gita tore through the region.
Gale-force winds gusting above 130km/h brought down trees, damaged buildings and cut electricity to more than 26,000 properties around the region when the storm blew through last week.
While power was restored to most by the end of the week, residents in remote eastern Taranaki could remain in the dark until Wednesday.
Taranaki Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Marcia Paurini visited farmers in the area at the weekend and said most were making the best of the difficult situation.
‘‘People are resilient and they’re just getting on with it,’’ she said.
‘‘They’ve learnt from past events and they know how to get through these challenges.’’
However, it was important that people looked beyond the current situation and made plans for the future, Paurini said.
‘‘Everybody is dealing with today and a lot of people don’t future think. It’s been a really difficult season for a lot of people and the challenges have been out of their control but there are things you can do to mitigate future climate risks.’’
Paurini said farmers had learnt from past events like flooding in June 2015, which left many without power or access to essential services for more than a week.
‘‘A lot of people did go out and buy generators after those floods but there have still been people who’ve had to find a generator to borrow or they’ve been sharing one between three properties in the past week.
‘‘It’s great that people are pulling together to support each other and share equipment but if you’re in that situation, do you need to generator of your own rather than sharing?’’
As well as making practical and infrastructure changes to better prepare for extreme events, farmers should take the time to go over relevant paperwork.
‘‘Looking at things like your insurance policy is a good idea,’’ Paurini said.
Business interruption insurance provided cover for financial loss and getting a business back up and running after a disaster and could help with the costs of getting a generator or other equipment in, Paurini said.
‘‘Knowing what you’re entitled to and how to get it can give you a sense of some control of the situation.’’
As well as financial assistance, there could be practical help available through the likes of Taskforce Green, a Ministry of Social Development work programme to help with clean-up and recovery after an emergency.
‘‘If fences are down, they can do that and it just takes one job and a lot of pressure off farmers.’’
Gita’s damaging winds were the latest in a series of extreme weather events Taranaki farmers have grappled with since the middle of last year.
An unusually wet winter and spring left many with damaged pasture and a shortage of feed as they headed into what would become one of the driest summers on record in the region.
The conditions had been tough on both farmers and their businesses, Paurini said.
‘‘A lot of farmers are now putting their hands up for RAP [Rural Assistance Payments] and although that’s difficult for some of them, it’s good to see them swallowing thier pride and taking the help on offer,’’ she said.
Paurini encouraged rural people to continue to take care of themselves and each other and ask for help when it was needed.
‘‘We’re not taking a lot of calls from people needing help themselves but we are getting calls from rural professionals and other people calling with concerns about friends or neighbours,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s really important that people carry on looking out for each other and don’t get isolated.’’