Evacuation advised as cyclone nears
Campers, trampers and boaties have been told to leave the Marlborough Sounds before Cyclone Gita hits.
Heavy rain and severe gales are expected to hit the top of the south by 4pm today, with ‘‘damaging’’ gusts of 130kmh in exposed places.
Marlborough Civil Defence has issued a warning for people across the region to expect damaging winds, rapidly rising streams and rivers.
Marlborough District Council communications manager Glyn Walters said residents that did not have supplies to last a few days should also consider leaving.
‘‘Some locals need to be prepared to be isolated for some days due to expected road slips, and therefore they could leave today if that suited them.
‘‘This depends on their circumstances.’’
‘‘There will be people there that it won’t be easy for them to do that, but if you have the option to leave then you should definitely consider it,’’ he said.
Walters said people should stay with friends or family in Marlbor- ough if they could as heavy rain could cause slips, and large waves in excess of 6 metres were expected.
Walters said people who did not know anyone in Marlborough but wanted to evacuate as a precaution would need to find their own accommodation.
‘‘We are not currently planning on doing that [providing accommodation]. We will be monitoring the situation tomorrow so we will have to see how things go tomorrow in terms of the impact of the storm.’’
Outer Sounds resident Rose Patchett said she took a special trip into town on Sunday to make sure she was prepared for the storm.
Patchett said her pantry was stocked with cans and her survival kit was ready.
‘‘We don’t usually go into town on a Sunday but we got a few more extra things just in case,’’ she said.
Patchett said since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 2016, she had made a point of being prepared for anything.
A heavy rain warning was in place from 10am to 10pm today, with the strong wind warning from 4pm on Tuesday to 4am on Wednesday.