Westland Civil Defence

The situation in Westland District has not changed materially from the update sent at 1430 today.

Duty Controller Chris Hawker summarises the situation:

- SH6 is open, traffic is flowing. There are significant stretches of road where traffic is down to one lane or has speed restrictions – please take extreme care and allow extra time for your trip.

- All local roads in the district are open with the exception of the access to the glacier at Fox

- All tap water in Fox Glacier and Arahura Pa must be boiled until further notice. If you have no means of heating water to boiling point for at least 2 minutes (electric jug, pot on a range or camp stove or BBQ) use 2 drops of household bleach per litre of water, stir and leave for 30 minutes.

- Power supply to Fox Glacier is expected to be restored by tomorrow afternoon. Power to the rest of the district has been restored

- Both power and water supplies remain fragile so please limit consumption

- With most services restored, Civil Defence is focusing more on the transition to recovery, and ensuring the ongoing welfare of the community. Residents needing immediate assistance can call 03 7569010 or 0800 474 834. Overnight and at the weekend the answerphone message has options for after-hours support.

The emergency operations centre is standing down at 1900 tonight, reopening at 0800 Sunday.

We expect to have the next update after 1000 tomorrow.

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