MEDIA RELEASE

9 March 2017

12.30hrs update

Regional council ready for more bad weather on Coromandel

As rain eases today on the Coromandel, Waikato Regional Council staff are gearing up to provide further assistance to local landowners and other agencies if conditions deteriorate again.

The regional hazards team set up a flood room operation in Hamilton yesterday to monitor developments and provide information and support as required.

That operation has been stood down today in light of the better weather but will be re-activated as required given the forecasts of more heavy rain over coming days.

Besides monitoring rivers and current rainfall, the Hamilton-based team is carrying on with weather forecast and potential river level assessments to look at the possible effects of the weather in specific areas of the Coromandel and the wider region.

Local flood response rooms have been activated at the Whitianga and Paeroa offices.

Staff in those areas are liaising with local landowners and stakeholders about any flood response needed by the council, such as clearing waterway and drainage blockages and checking and maintaining flood protection infrastructure.

“Our regional council flood protection assets have generally worked well to help limit the impact of the deluge,” said regional hazards team leader Rick Liefting.

“We’ll be carrying on working with landowners and stakeholders to assess what further help they need from us, and monitoring the impacts the flooding has had and the potential impacts of further rainfall.”

Meanwhile, the Waikato Civil Defence group emergency management office (GEMO) in Hamilton is activated in support mode ready to fully ramp up if the situation escalates.

It says the local Thames Valley civil defence team has been handling the response very well.

The GEMO group controller and welfare manager have been liaising with Thames Valley over any possible support requirements, while the GEMO public information team has provided social media support and filled in when local public information staff requested assistance.

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