Fire and Emergency respond to hundreds of weather callouts

Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded to hundreds of weather related callouts overnight as ex-tropical Cyclone Gita moved across the country.

Overall, Fire and Emergency received 1302 calls from midday yesterday to 6’oclock this morning, with a large proportion of those calls being weather-related.

Crews were called out to downed power lines and trees across major roads.

They also helped pump water from flooded homes in several regions throughout the country and assisted with rescues and evacuations.

Many of the callouts were in Wellington/Kapiti, Tasman and Marlborough and Taranaki regions.

Local states of emergency are still in place for Taranaki, Christchurch City, Buller, Grey, Selwyn, Westland, and Nelson and Tasman districts.

Fire and Emergency response coordinator Paul Turner says crews have been working tirelessly to help with the storm response.

"Our personnel have been working very hard throughout the past 24 hours. It’s been a well-coordinated and multi-agency response," he says.

Fire and Emergency, Police, and Defence Force personnel will be working with local authorities to support clean up today.

For more information about states of emergency and tips about what to do in a storm please visit https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/.

ENDS

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