Mayor praises recovery efforts after one in a 100 year flood

Dunedin (Thursday, 4 June 2015) – Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull has praised the work of volunteers who helped with sandbagging yesterday and the work of multi-agency crews with the clean up today, in the wake of a more than a one in 100 year flood.

He says a number of people have volunteered their time and a wide range of organisations have offered their assistance.

“This has been a very large event, bigger than a one in a 100 year flood, with about 175mm of rain falling in 24 hours. Emergency services have done a great job in assisting people in distress and we have been blessed by offers from many individuals and organisations. All have been gratefully welcomed. Even the Christchurch City Council which is still dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake, offered to help us in this situation.

“At the moment we have begun our recovery process with multi agency crews carrying out door-to-door checks of residents whose houses have been affected by flooding.”

Mr Cull says a civil defence welfare centre has been set up in South Dunedin at the St James Presbyterian Church in King Edward Street. Those needing information and advice can talk to DCC staff and local welfare agency staff at the centre.

“A mayoral fund has also been set up to help assist residents who might struggle to pay for the clean-up of their house after water damage.

“Dozens of slips, many of them on the Otago Peninsula are still keeping Dunedin City Council staff and contractors very busy. Many houses have suffered water damage, so there is still a lot of work to be done. However the overarching message across the city is this has been a well-coordinated emergency and recovery effort.”

However, Mr Cull says there have also been a number of things learnt from the event.

“The social media effort to mobilise the voluntary response has been fantastic, but we need to tweak it, to improve coordination in that space in a future event. An event like has also given us a glimpse into the future of what climate change may bring on a more regular basis. We will need to carefully plan how we maintain the city’s infrastructure over the next few decades. “

Mr Cull says with more than 3000 calls logged in the DCC call centre in the last 24 hours alone the city is now helping residents who are actively asking for help. People needing assistance are best to contact the DCC call centre to log their concerns on 477 4000. Those ringing in will be asked a series of questions to establish their needs and provide information on how to get the right assistance.

Dave Cull

Mayor of Dunedin

ENDS

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