Mayor Len Salt has declared a pre-emptive declaration of emergency in the district, at 1:35pm this afternoon.
A state of emergency can be declared when there is an event that might cause loss of life or property, which cannot be dealt with by emergency services in the normal fashion.
“The reason I have done this is because we have an unfolding situation with vulnerable communities, vulnerable people and an emerging situation where we have the potential for land slips and further erosion that we need to manage,” the Mayor said.
“The main area affected is the west coast, the Thames Coast, from Ruamahunga northward. By declaring a state of emergency we are empowering our agencies and our emergency support services and our staff to be able to manage this situation in a way that protects property and keeps people safe and out of harm’s way.
The situation is “weather dependent and will depend to some degree on the extent to which the damage that has already been done by water and rainfall continues to make the hills and catchment areas vulnerable to further slips.
“There is some rain expected over the weekend but we’re hoping for some fine weather to settle the situation down to some degree.”
The east coast is less affected and can be accessed from the south, but the situation can change at short notice.
“Most people visiting and most of the residents of Thames-Coromandel District will not be aware there is a state of emergency in place. If you are out and about visiting, please keep up to date with road conditions and take care out there everyone.”
What does this mean for the Coromandel?
During a state of emergency, emergency services are given additional power that will allow them to respond to and manage risk more efficiently. This can include evacuating people from at-risk areas and inspecting and accessing private property to assess or manage risk such as land slips or flooding.
It also means council services have greater and more efficient access to national resources when needed the most.
Can I still travel throughout the Coromandel during a state of emergency?
Due to the dynamic nature of hazards around our district, the council strongly discourage anyone from travelling around the district unless necessary.
Some local roads and State Highways are closed due to land slips with the potential for more closures in the coming days. Please visit this link on the council website for an up-to-date list of closed and compromised roads.
So…let’s see IF the old roads that are prone to flood water run-off and slips that lose plasticity are going to be re-built on the tops of hills as opposed to the foot of the hills…!
The hill tops- where there isn’t any flooding, and the land slips are well below the roadway.
BTW; how’s that new road coming along that’s supposed to replace the road on the Manawatu Gorge Road, which also had dangerous land slips?
State Highway One around Kaikoura should have been moved to higher elevations on top of the hills that run parallel to the shoreline.
Now, with millions being spent, there is still the danger of landslips from quakes, and the hazard of tsunamis since the road still runs along the shoreline.