13 February

Fire and Emergency is urging people to only call 111 if life or safety is at risk tonight, as they respond to a surge in calls from an ever-widening area of the North Island.

Communications centres logged 110 storm-related incidents in one hour from 10-11pm, bringing the total for the previous 12 hours to 687 (note that this is a rolling 12-hour period).

Of the 110 incidents logged between 10-11pm, 21 are in Northland, 28 in Auckland, 32 in Waikato, 23 in Bay of Plenty and 6 in Hawke’s Bay.

This is a rapidly moving situation and Fire and Emergency is prioritising the response to calls where life and safety is at risk. Currently these include:

- a house slipping down a bank and a person on top of a vehicle in a river in Whangarei District

- Flooded home and a house on fire in Kaipara District

- House slipped off its piles, flooding entering a building, tree falling onto a house and two people stuck between slips in Auckland

- Flooded house and a roof on fire in Thames-Coromandel District

- property flooding and a roof lifting in Waikato District

- A tree fallen on a house in Matamata-Piako District

- Flooded house in Hamilton

- Loose roofing in Taupo District

- Collapsing garden sheds in Hamilton

- Minor property damage in Rotorua District

- Tree falling on a house in Hastings District

Fire and Emergency’s Auckland Response Manager Vaughan Mackereth is reiterating requests that people should only call 111 when life and safety are at risk. This ensures people who urgently need help can get through to our communications centre.

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