Coromandel cleanup: ‘42 slips . . .That’s big, big stuff to get fixed’
The cleanup is in full swing across the Coromandel after cyclone Gabrielle swept through the region on Monday causing significant slips, says mayor Len Salt.
‘‘We’ve had literally hundreds and hundreds of slips around the network ... and it’s not small. These are thousands of tonnes that have come off cliff sides,’’ Salt said.
State Highway 25 opened fully on Friday for the first time following Cyclone Gabrielle, but some connecting roads – such as Tapu Coroglen Rd – are still blocked due to slips.
‘‘We had 42 slips along Tapu Coroglen. That’s big, big stuff to get fixed,’’ Salt said.
Despite the large number of slips, Thames-Coromandel Civil Defence controller Brian Carter said the region got off ‘‘lightly’’ compared to areas like Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘At the moment, we have one family of four and six individuals in temporary accommodation,’’ he said.
Nine homes have been redstickered, nine yellow-stickered and four white-stickered after the cyclone moved down the country.
There are still power outages across the Thames-Coromandel region, but most of these are single households or small areas, he said.
‘‘Any widespread power issues have generally been resolved,’’ Carter said.
Several communities still have limited connection to the outside world, he said.
‘‘It’s really difficult access from Colville Bay to the very top of the peninsula – that’s due to some pretty extensive slips.’’
Carter asked drivers to ‘‘be careful on the roads and be patient’’ while teams get everything up and running.
Salt said the community would be feeling the impact of
this devastation for quite some time.
‘‘We’ve had six weeks now of
extreme weather event followed by extreme weather event,’’ he said.
‘‘This is happening now so frequently and so severely because of climate change.
’’The net effect on the roads, on business, on everyone has been really severe,’’ he said.
Salt isn’t just concerned with the immediate cleanup. He wants to make sure the Coromandel has the right infrastructure in place, so future cyclones don’t cause as much carnage.
‘‘If we don’t build some resilience into our roading and our infrastructure, then it’s going to start having a severe impact on the economic and social wellbeing of our whole district,’’ he said.