Civil Defence Update – Westland

Westland District Council has activated a Level 3 Emergency Operations Centre in response to severe weather across all of Westland. This is not yet a declared Civil Defence emergency.

Media Update #5

Time: 08.40 Saturday 3 February 2018

New Zealand Transport Agency has advised that their expectation is that the whole stretch of State Highway 6 from Hokitika to Makarora will be reopened at 11am. As soon as this road is re-opened there will be a large volume of traffic moving northbound especially and motorists will need to drive slowly and be aware that they need to be vigilant as there may still be road hazards. Getting this road reopened will relieve pressure and tourists will be able to move out of the region and continue onwards. Westland families that have been separated will be able to be reunited.

Westland District Council wishes to advise that overnight cell phone communications and water supply was restored to Fox Glacier, as well as power to Franz Josef. This situation is likely to scale down and Council’s focus will then move out of the response phase and into determining social impacts and turning our attention to recovery.

Public Information Officer, Michelle Bunt, says: “We're just going to keep pushing forward today to ensure the safety of all persons and re-establish all critical infrastructure services as soon as possible. We are extremely heartened by this latest road reopening forecast.

“Council would like to express their gratitude and appreciation for our amazing community volunteers across the span of our region who have been working tirelessly.

“Once we have moved into recovery phase we will be undertaking a debrief to review how this situation was managed and identify improvements moving forward with all parties involved. There are always improvements that can be made and while we don’t want things like this to happen such events are useful in continuing to sharpen the skills of our team and refine our practices for best results for future events.”

ENDS

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