June 25

Road Closures Now On Web

Hutt City residents wanting to find out about road closures during emergency events such as was experienced during the recent floods will now be able to check Hutt City Council's website for the latest information, and plan accordingly.

"The flooding experienced in the city earlier this year, and the confusion caused by conflicting media reports of road closures, highlighted the need for a central point of reference that can be used by the public, media and emergency services", said Paul Nickalls, Hutt City's Emergency Management Controller.

"A key feature of the technology supporting the maps is the ability for people to zoom in to roads of interest, and easily plan alternative routes to avoid trouble spots."

An associated list showing the expected duration of each road closure will also be available.

"During an emergency, residents make heavy use of the huttcity.info website for up to date official information" said Paul Nickalls.

The maps will be drawn from the same information that the Emergency Management Office communicates to emergency services and the Regional Council.

Future plans could see other information added to the maps, such as areas of the city without water or electricity.

The council's website www.huttcity.info indicates whenever an emergency is declared in the city. When applicable, the road closure maps will be accessible from the site's home page.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

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