Situation Report As At 8:00 Am, Friday, 23 July 2004

The Civil Defence Emergency status was reviewed on Wednesday, 21 July 2004 and extended to Friday, 23 July 2004 at 1600 hours when the situation will be reviewed again.

The weather forecast for the Bay of Plenty is for generally fine weather (showers in the eastern ranges) for the next four days. Rain is forecast for Tuesday.

There was one earthquake recorded overnight in the Rotoma area – 05:18 a magnitude of 3.4.

Environment Bay of Plenty have commenced emergency repair work to close the breach in the Rangitaiki River stopbank at Edgecumbe to stop water flowing onto the Rangitaiki Plains.

A total of 75 dairy farms have been badly affected.

Essential supplies will be helicoptered in to Ngaputahi and Ruatahuna today. Two or three patients will also be evacuated from the area.

The Army Hall at The Strand East, Whakatane, has been set up as a collection point for food and non-perishable items. This will be co-ordinated by the Ngäti Awa Social and Health Services Trust (NASH).

Insurance assessors have provided advice on “where to start” for people affected by floods.

Peter Davies, former Chief Executive Officer of Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council, has commenced his duties as Recovery Manager. He is supported by two staff from the Ministry of Civil Defence. A Recovery Office is currently being established in Quay Street. It is expected to be fully operational by Monday.

IMPACT ON PEOPLE
- Significant flooding impacting on farming—dairying and horticulture. Will severely impact on this sector economically.
- The Fonterra factory at Edgecumbe is not yet operational.
- A large number of homes have been evacuated in the district because of flooding and landslips. Some of the evacuations will be long term. However, the overall effect is not as bad as was first feared.
- A number of schools remain closed.

EVACUATION UPDATE

The Evacuation Centre at the Whakatane War Memorial Hall has been dis-established and transferred to the Army Hall in The Strand East. From there evacuees have gone:

- home;
- to the Wairaka Marae;
- to the Hokowhitu Marae;
- to the Puawairua Marae.

It is estimated that approximately 80 to 100 people are staying at the three marae. The other evacuation centres have closed.

Total number registered evacuees = 1,657. Many of the rural evacuees are yet to register. Still unable to confirm total number of evacuees. Will continue to process registrations today.

SCHOOLS—WHAKATANE DISTRICT

Five schools remained closed on Thursday, 22 July. Four schools are anticipated be closed until Monday, 26 July.

- Thornton Primary—site cleaning, should open Wednesday, 28 July.
- Te Wharekura o Ruatoki—closed till Monday, 26 July owing to access to the school for staff and students.
- Te Kura Mâori-a-Rohe o Waiohau—closed till Monday, 26 July owing to access to the school from the Murupara end. Concern regarding bridge stability.
- Te Kura Kaupapa o Huiarau—closed till Monday, 26 July. Extremely difficulty getting students to school, owing to wash-outs.
- Te Mahoe open for students, Friday 23 July. Water supply needs addressing.

ROAD CLOSURES AFFECTING SCHOOL ACCESS

Waimana Gorge area
Raroa Road, Lowe Road (no bus access)
Owhakatoro Valley—only 45% roll attending Waimana School

Ruatoki and Tawera area
Owhakatoro Road, Ruatoki Valley, bridge stability

Ohope area
Stanley Road

All buses are now operating as usual except in the flooded areas of the Edgecumbe Plains.

SCHOOL DAMAGE

- No water penetration in any schools.
- Flooding of Thornton site the most serious.
- Site inspection of Whakatane schools being carried out by MOE emergency consultant.
- MOE has organised the flushing of sewerage lines for a number of schools to ensure safety.
- Water supply to Te Mahoe School needs attention.

Group Special Education have been in contact with schools outlining support available for staff and students in need of extra support to assist with returning to the normal day-to-day school or ECE structure.

FLOODING (As at 5:00 pm, 22 July 2004)

River Levels—Absolute Levels (as recorded)

River Peak Level 18/07/04 Level at 3:00 pm 22/07/04 Forecast
Whakatane (Valley Rd) 7.7m 2.0m Dropping further
Rangitaiki (Te Teko) 6.4m 3.3m Dropping further

Relative Levels (above normal river levels)

River Peak Level 18/07/04 Level @ 3pm 22/07/04 Forecast
Whakatane (Valley Rd) 6.7m 1.0m Dropping further
Rangitaiki (Te Teko) 5.1m 2.0m Dropping further

Water on Plains

- Ponded water is reducing through gravity and pumping. Therefore net outflow.
- Reids Central Canal is flowing strongly.

Matahina Dam Discharge

- Current discharge is 190 cumecs. This will be reviewed by Trust Power at 6:00 pm 22/07/04.
- Peak discharge on 18/07/04 was 740 cumecs.

BREACH
Rangitaiki River—Breach at "Sullivans' Bend"

Access road of 700 metres was completed 22/07/04 and blocking of the breach is in progress. River levels in the Rangitaiki have dropped to a level where there is no longer flow through this breach.

CONTROLLED CUTS
Rangitaiki River

- Butlers Nursery and Thornton Hall Road Cuts

Both of these are being backfilled and the stopbanks reinstated as flow through has now ceased.

- Reids Central Canal

One box culvert on Reids Central Canal upstream of Thornton Road bridge is operating well.
Just upstream of the box culvert there is a high level controlled cut (above high tide) that is providing additional flow from this area.

STOPBANK REPAIRS
Kokohinau

- Rock protection is progressing well.

PUMPING OPERATIONS
- 16 tractor driven pumps
- 5 electrical pumps
- 8 others

INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS REPORTS

Water Supply

- Whakatane, Ohope, Edgecumbe, Matata, Murupara, Taneatua, Ruatoki and Waimana Supplies have returned to normal. The "boil water" notice for Taneatua and Ruatoki can be lifted.
- Te Mahoe supply has returned to normal production but "boil water" notice is in place until further notice.
- Plains Supply including Te Teko is normal except pressure in Awakeri Extension, and parts of Thornton will be low until the night of Friday, 23 July.

Sewer

- Whakatane, Ohope, Taneatua, Murupara and Te Mahoe Schemes have returned to normal operation. All pump stations, ponds/treatment plant and reticulation systems are operational.
- Edgecumbe Scheme is operational except in the Hydro Road area, where floodwater is causing problems.
- Blockages are being attended to on receiving requests/notifications.
- Effluent in all ponds has now fallen to normal operating levels.

Land Drainage

- Whakatane

All systems and pump schemes with the exception of Awatapu are operating normally. The twin pump station at Awatapu has only one operational pump which is being powered by the motor borrowed from Paeroa (Environment Waikato) and with Horizon Energy's trailer-mounted generator. A standby motor is held in storage and the station is expected to be back on normal power during Friday, 23 July.
De-silting will be carried out on the Wainui-Te Whara Stream at the bottom of Gorge Road and on the outlet to Awatapu Lagoon commencing Sunday, 25 July.
- Edgecumbe
Environment Bay of Plenty advise that both the Omeheu Adjunct and the Omeheu East pump stations are operating normally.
- Ohope
The Millers Stream was cleared of log debris on 22 July and other pipe outlets desilted. Apart from minor bank slumping on Wharekura and Maraetotara Streams, all systems are satisfactory.
- Matata
No damage occurred to streams and outlets; however, some large rocks are to be cleared from the Awatarariki Stream to prevent bank erosion.
- Taneatua, Murupara, Te Teko
All systems operating.
Port
An initial inspection has been carried out on Port assets, and with the exception of the Spit Wall, no damage has been identified. Approximately 50 metres of the 120 metre Spit Wall has been damaged.
Roading

Number Est cost of repairs
Flood-damaged roads 47 $4.5 million
Clean up—general slip removal, surface repairs and culvert cleans $1 million
Bridges 34 $541,500

Note: This is considered to be a conservative estimate of costs.

- The Matata Straights (SH2) are again closed.
- State Highway 2 at Waiotahi is open but people are advised to take care around slips.
- State Highway 2 through Waimana Gorge is open, with care required.
- The section of State Highway 2 between Edgecumbe and Western Drain Road is closed.
- State Highway 38 Murupara to Te Whaiti and Ruatahuna is closed but there is access between Ruatahuna and Wairoa for 4WD vehicles.

A separate report on the status of local roads is available.

POWER

Power supplies normal.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

At 20 July the Telecom network in the Eastern Bay of Plenty has been restored. Pockets of customers are still affected by damage to cabling. Telecom have offered assistance to customers without phone lines or unable to return to their homes. Details of the offer distributed to the evacuation and recovery centres as a fact sheet.

IMPACTS ON DWELLINGS
Landslip-affected

Ohope Whakatane Rural
West End Road
Brown Road
Cliff Road
Ohope Hill
Claydon Place Seaview Road
Burma Road
Berg Place
Muriwai Drive
Waiewe Street Matata S H 2
Ruatahuna/Te Whaiti

Status Number
Total number of properties inspected 40
Number of houses declared safe 11
Number of houses declared safe but geotechnical assessment required of property 10
Number of houses which have restricted use but must be evacuated if there is more rain 11
Number of houses declared unsafe and must not be reoccupied 8

Flood-affected

Status Number
Number of properties visited 400
Number of houses 184
Number of houses inspected and safe to return 80
No houses inspected and not able to be reoccupied (owing to water damage requiring removal of wall linings, etc) and therefore requiring repair 104

Estimated that there are 70-80 houses on the Rangitaiki Plains that will have water damage. These will be inspected once the flood water recede and staff can gain access.

IMPACTS ON FARMS

The Federated Farmers team have almost completed their inspection of the 75 worst impacted farms. Damage to pastures and farms so far appears less than first expected—low temperatures and lowish silt loadings has assisted.

Two flood recovery meetings are scheduled for farmers:

- Awakeri Events Centre—Friday 6.30 pm
- Waiotahi Hall—Tuesday 26 July 6.30 pm

FIRE SERVICE

Command Centre still operating at the Edgecumbe War Memorial Hall. A total of 11 crews currently working in Edgecumbe with seven fire appliances plus support vehicles. A total of 40 firefighters involved.

Five crews at the Fonterra site—should be completed by Friday
Rest of crews working around Edgecumbe and Te Teko, and will then move onto Plains area.

PRIORITIES

Priority Assigned to
Roads—continuing progress in repair roads to enable access WDC
Co-ordinate return of evacuees to their homes as the floodwaters recede. Civil Defence
Assessment of damage to properties by inspectorial teams, before people can re-enter their homes WDC
Monitor operation of the Recovery Centres (Whakatane, Edgecumbe) to ensure that the needs of the evacuees are being adequately addressed. Civil Defence
Completing registration and updating database of evacuated residents Civil Defence
Complete work on breach to the stopbank EnvBoP
Monitoring and maintaining supplies to inaccessible residents at Ngaputahi. Civil Defence
Finding suitable accommodation for long-term evacuees Civil Defence
Developing and implementing the long-term recovery plan Recovery Team

RESOURCES AVAILABLE

A resource database was developed on 19 July and is being updated continuously.

The military units tasked to assist the recovery effort have been stood down and have returned to their home bases.

Federated Farmers Recovery Team located in the Riverslea Mall from Friday night

One-stop-shop for evacuees at old Army Hall, Quay Street and Edgecumbe War Memorial Hall: WINZ, Housing New Zealand, counselling services.

Ministry of Civil Defence has appointed two staff to support the Recovery Coordinator, Mr Peter Davies:

- Simon Chambers
- Shane Bayley

Fact sheets have been put together and have been made available at the evacuation centres to assist people as they start planning their return to their homes. These contain:

- information about returning to homes,
- simple techniques for salvaging photographs, documents, etc,
- advice on lost or damaged property,
- advice on health measures,
- telephone services (Telecom),
- insurance emergency information.

A BRANZ sheet on restoring flood-damaged houses is also available.

MAYORAL DISASTER RELIEF FUND

As at 23 July 2004 the Whakatane/Opotiki Mayoral Disaster Relief Fund stands at $297,407.98. The government has agreed to match this fund on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

The disaster relief fund will be used for the long-term recovery of people affected by floods. The terms of reference are being established. Trustees need to be appointed and then applications to the fund can be invited.

The immediate needs of people for food, clothing and accommodation are being met through the Recovery Centre.

ENDS

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