CLEAN-UP AS ROADS, WATER SUPPLY DAMAGED BY WEATHER
The clean-up of New Zealand’s Northland continues after a weekend of wild weather, with severe rainfall leaving a number of towns a little worse-for-wear.
Speaking to More FM yesterday morning, Northland Civil Defence spokesperson Murray Soljak said “a lot was achieved on Saturday” by contractors and emergency services to reopen roads in the region. Emergency centres established in Whangarei for local evacuees last Friday night have been closed, Mr Soljak confirmed, as many were forced to flee their homes to escape the severe rain and flooding. Since the rain has eased overnight, contractors are working “around the clock” to clean up the storm’s path of destruction - but while some of the damage is relatively quick to fix, impairments to roading will take longer to rectify. “For roading, some things are able to be resolved very easily - some things will take a little longer. In some cases there’s been a loss of stability around the road or a slip, and it isn’t that quick of a fix. It’s a matter or prioritising,” Mr Soljak said.
“On my own drive home last night to the Tutukaka Coast, there were probably a dozen slips that had been cleared, moved to the side or coned off... contractors will have to go back through again and tidy that up, but in the meantime people are able to get on with their lives.”
According to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), all state highways in Northland have reopened as of 8:30am yesterday, aside from SH1 from Kaitaia to Okaihau, including Mangamuka Gorge. This highway is “not expected to reopen for some time”, said the agency.
For people across Whangarei,
Opua, Paihia and Waitangi, water has also become a significant issue. “In these massive rainfall events, there’s often damage to [water supply] equipment. Either the filters are getting clogged or pumped themselves, just being overwhelmed,” Mr Soljak explained.
“There are people working to get those restored, but in the meantime, in terms of treated water - they’re left basically with the capacity that was there on Friday night.”