Recovery work continues
Civil Defence is continuing to develop a wider picture of the situation following the aftermath of the weekend's severe weather.
Acting Civil Defence Primary Controller, Bruce Horne, says a lot of focus has been on Ngongotahā but we're very aware that people across Rotorua have been affected.
Council are deploying staff to affected areas like Rerewhakaitu/ Reporoa/ Glenholme/ Paradise Valley/ Lake Tarawera and looking at three main areas:
- Making contact with people who've been affected to provide support and advise
- Assessing damage to infrastructure such as roads and private properties
- And gathering data that will enable our planners to develop a complete picture, so we know exactly what the community is facing
Mr Horne says this is a key focus for Civil Defence right now - to develop a wider picture of the damage.
We need to develop a plan to respond to the overall situation - in an orderly and systematic way. Yesterday afternoon and last night we had staff going door to door to see how people are and offer support and advice. What has been clear during this challenging time has been the resilience of the community and people's generosity to help one another, he says.
We are asking people, who need help and haven't been in touch with council, to get in touch with us on 07 348 4199.
Mr Horne says we are aware people will be frustrated and we sincerely ask for people's patience at this time. It's important to remember that the aftermath of the weekend's weather has resulted in a high volume of calls to us with about 750 calls received on day one alone. There is a backlog of jobs which we're working through. We appreciate that things may not be happening as quickly as people may like but international experience is that everyone is overwhelmed in a situation like this - including emergency services, says Mr Horne.