Wednesday, July 08, 2015

A long way from seeing any heavy rainfall

According to recent Metservice reports the Horizons Region is a long way from seeing any heavy rainfall, spelling good news for on-going clean-up efforts.

Heavy snow warnings that were in place for Hawke’s Bay, Taihape and the Central Plateau have now been lifted.

A new burst of snow showers is forecast for later tonight and into tomorrow. However, while this may affect some roads and driving conditions, it will ease throughout Friday and is not expected to have any adverse impact on river systems.

On the ground, the long-term restoration of the Region’s rural sector remains a focus.

Horizons regional recovery manager Ged Shirley says that a lot of terrain requires more time in order for it to be dry enough for works to completed.

“Our focus over the coming weeks is assessing what can be done now, but also where the work needs to be postponed until conditions allow, and how we support affected parties in the interim.”

A factsheet has been created around the different avenues of assistance available to those who have been affected by the floods and can be downloaded from the Emergency Management section of Horizons’ website and will be distributed to all district councils in the region.

Rural Support Trusts around the Region play a big part in the recovery phase and coordinators are in place for three rural support trusts.

“These trusts are concentrating their efforts on assessing farmer needs, and working with those farmers to determine when work can be completed, and how they will manage their operations in this time.”

“We know that many farmers are between a rock and a hard place in terms of not being able to make much progress, but we’re doing all we can to work with other agencies to support those affected.”

“At this stage, the district councils are making good progress on urgent works and are now coordinating their allocated Taskforce Green crews are on the ground to aid work where it’s needed.”

“Taskforce Green work parties are being well received by the farming community and Horizons is working on improved job prioritisation systems and long term scheduling for the crews.”

Anyone interested in obtaining assistance from Taskforce Green workers is advised to contact their local council coordinator, who will then prioritise the tasks in accordance with district needs. These coordinators are:

Wanganui – Neil Hooker, 027 343 7504
Rangitikei – Johan Cullis 027 450 0296
South Taranaki – Phil Waite, 027 295 1983

Applications for assistance from the Manawatu-Wanganui Disaster Relief Fund Trust are now open, with applicants asked to apply via their local city or district council.

Local authorities will assess the needs of their communities before forwarding their funding request to the Trust. The funding round will close onFriday 24 July 2015.

The Disaster Relief Fund Trust was set up to meet the needs of those adversely affected by a disaster event. It is available for the welfare needs of families and individuals in the first instance and then, depending on resources, assisting with the restoration of community assets and providing support for small businesses.

The latest information about road conditions and closures is available via local council websites, with information about the state highway network online at www.nzta.govt.nz

Facebook page www.facebook.com/civildefencemanawatuwanganui is acting as a hub for emergency information and people are encouraged to keep an eye on this page for any further updates.

ENDS

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