Kaipara Emergency Management continues to respond to the impacts of the Mangawhai tornado.

The cordon at Moir Street was lifted overnight, after Northpower restored services to most properties on the street. A cordon remains in place at Old Waipu Road, where Northpower crew continue to replace poles. Approximately 81 properties on Old Waipu Road remain without power, where more than twenty poles were toppled.

Kaipara Civil Defence Emergency Management Local Controller John Burt reiterated that movement needed to stay restricted to allow Northpower to do their work as quickly as possible.

“People’s safety is our first priority. We understand that people want to clean up and get back to normal life as quickly as possible, but until work is completed we need to treat all wires as live and allow Northpower to secure the area. The teams are working as hard as they can, and we expect to be able to move the cordon back to Kahu Drive late morning, with the cordon removed completely before the end of the day.”

The response to the tornado has been a multi-agency approach, involving Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Police, Northpower and other lifeline utilities. Since yesterday afternoon efforts have been led by Kaipara Civil Defence Emergency Management, made up of trained council staff and Civil Defence Emergency Management professionals.

Rapid Response Teams including first responders and Civil Defence Emergency Management staff are going door to door this morning on Old Waipu Road, conducting welfare checks and supporting residents with anything they need.

Council building inspectors carried out building assessments yesterday. To date, approximately 17 houses and buildings have been white stickered, and nine yellow. This number is expected to rise once assessments have been completed along Moir Street and side streets.

Affected residents are encouraged to get in contact with their insurance providers in the first instance.

Council will be removing tornado damaged green waste and items from berms in the most affected areas this week.

The Mangawhai council office at Unit 6, The Hub is open until 6pm and available for anyone wanting more information or welfare assistance. Alternatively people can call the council on 0800 727 059 / 09 439 7059. The welfare team will support people with anything they need.

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