Here is some of the most recent news from our councils as they focus on relief and recovery.
Hastings District Council is spending over $600,000 a day on essential roading repairs and access restoration, with nine bridges destroyed, seven badly damaged, and 19 with damage to their approaches. Thirty bridges are yet to be assessed. As of 2 March, excluding roading and three waters infrastructure expenses, HDC has spent $1.3 million.
Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said that insurance and channels for funding assistance from Central Government were available to help offset the costs, but the event would still have a big financial impact on the Council. “As we move beyond providing the emergency response, we are going to have to take a hard look at our priorities as outlined in the Long Term Plan 2021-31, and there may need to be changes to the planned investment activities,” she said.
And here’s HDC’s comprehensive web resource for the District’s recovery work and services.
HB Regional Council crews are working on permanent repairs to stop banks, with each of 20 repair sites having a dedicated pod of self-contained work staff.
“This ensures each site, which will have different issues caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, gets dedicated attention to ensure repairs are done promptly and effectively,” says Senior Project manager Harry Donnelly.
HBRC also reported this week that Cyclone Gabrielle rainfall data showing measured rainfall surpassing forecasts in one area by more than 250mm and by as much as 250mm in others. The Glengarry site recorded 546mm of rainfall, the most of all the region’s sites, with almost 400mm falling in 12 hours at a maximum intensity of 56mm per hour.
Also especially hard hit was the eastern area of Wairoa , also getting get more than 500mm of rain, while Gabrielle delivered about 320mm of rain to HBRC’s Newstead site, in the western hills of the Ahuriri catchment near Puketapu, which is about one-third of the usual annual rainfall there – most of it falling within 24 hours.
And it could have been more. HBRC scientist Dr. Kathleen Kozyniak notes that some recorded rainfall results may be lower than actual rainfall, as cyclone-strength wind can prevent rain from falling into rain gauges!
Where monitoring sites were in place to permits comparisons, rainfall from Gabrielle was significantly greater than Bola in 1988. For example, Twice as much rain fell on two Porangahau sites during the most intense 24-hour rainfall period of Gabrielle than during the most intense 24-hour period of Bola. And Gabrielle’s rainfall was also more intense than Bola during 6-, 12- and 24-hour periods at the seven sites in the Tukituki catchment in place in 1988.
Napier City Council is pleased to announce that kerbside recycling services will resume from Monday 6 March.
From Monday, Napier residents can present separated glass, plastics/cans and paper/cardboard on their usual recycling day.
Photos supplied.
And NCC………