Media Advisory Sunday 6 March 2011: Avoca Valley Homes Evacuated – Risk of Rockfall

Houses on the even numbers side of Avoca Valley Road have been evacuated due to the risk of rocks falling in any further aftershocks. The affected houses are numbers 2 to 96 Avoca Valley Road only.

Houses were evacuated at around 3pm today with police assistance. It is estimated around of the affected 20 families will be housed over night at the Pioneer Stadium welfare centre.

Civil Defence say residents who were not at home at the time when the evacuation was made may wish to retrieve important possessions. They state there is an acceptable risk for residents to gain short term access to recover possessions but that residents should be in no doubt they will be at risk if further aftershocks occur.

It is unclear at this stage when or whether the evacuation might be reviewed.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Metservice: Where Will Snow Fall And What To Look Out For

The deep Antarctic air that is expected to sweep across the country this week is bringing very significant weather to many provinces.Here's the official MetService view of the key weather concerns for the country.

MetService Media and Communications Meteorologist Dan Corbett commented,"While snow will be a major issue for those in the South Island, wind and hail will affect many North Island districts."

Snow is expected to fall to sea level, or very near it, from Southland to South Canterbury from late Wednesday into Thursday and Friday. The snow level is expected to rise to 200m from about Christchurch northwards... More>>