Cyclone Gita Update 012 – Community Information Meetings on Wednesday
27 February 2018 1000hrs

Two information meetings will be held Wednesday evening to update the communities of Riwaka and Marahau relating to Cyclone Gita recovery efforts.

These meetings will provide an opportunity for people to discuss their priorities for recovery with Civil Defence and the Tasman District Council.

The meeting times and locations are:

5.30 pm at Riwaka School Hall.
and
7.30 pm at Marahau Fire Station.

The public are encouraged to attend and provide feedback. Any queries that can’t be dealt with at the meeting will be referred to appropriate staff and agencies.

Nelson Tasman Civil Defence is also looking to set up drop-in sessions on Thursday and Friday. This will provide an opportunity for people to seek one on one information and support from a variety of service providers. Details will be confirmed later today.

Welfare and Inspection Updates

As of 9 am Tuesday morning, the following has been undertaken:

Over 550 building inspections to assess the safety of property - this has resulted in:
5 "red stickers" - not habitable (do not enter)
14 "yellow stickers" - restricted use/access

There have also been over 600 welfare visits to assess needs of affected residents. As at Tuesday morning, there were approx. 50 issues that were being followed up by Welfare support staff.

Forestry Clean Up

Council contractors and local forestry companies are working together to remove logs and slash debris that has impacted Council infrastructure across Tasman District as a result of last week's Cyclone Gita.

The local forestry companies are identifying dump sites for the debris material. The companies have also been asked to help with resources to remove logs and slash especially where it is impeding local infrastructure, such as bridges, culverts and roads.

The forestry companies are also actively remediating any damage to private properties that received debris and slash from forestry operations.

Council’s involvement

Many people are expressing concern that they have not seen or dealt with Council staff during the emergency.

It should be noted that the vast majority of Civil Defence staff come from local Councils (Tasman District and Nelson City Council).

Also, Council specialists such as building inspectors, engineers and recovery staff have been out in the community since day one.

The Emergency Operations Centre co-ordinating the response is also staffed almost entirely by Council staff. This is part of our ongoing commitment to our community and will continue until the recovery is complete.

ENDS.

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