Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana continues to monitor and respond to the impact of significant rainfall across the Bay of Plenty.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council CEO, Fiona McTavish, says the organisation is focused on supporting and protecting communities across the Bay of Plenty, with an integrated plan in place which includes teams ready to quickly respond to the effects of a weather event.

“The events in the Auckland region over the last 72 hours continue to reinforce the importance of agencies working in a proactive and coordinated way to prepare and respond to the needs of communities.

“It’s against this background that we continue to encourage residents across the rohe to stay informed about the latest weather, what’s in place in their community now should they need help and support, and who they can contact in the event of a major weather-related emergency.”

The organisation’s flood room, based in Whakatāne, is responsible for monitoring river levels across the region’s five catchments. It has been supporting agencies, including local councils Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) and Bay of Plenty Civil Defence with real-time information to assist with their planning and responding to flooding events.

The maritime team looks after navigational safety in our waterways. In a weather event this can mean responding to vessels that are sinking or that come free from their moorings, clearing floating debris and monitoring and repairing navigational aids.

The Pollution Hotline team is also on call 24 hours a day to handle any pollution events that can result from wild weather.

Council maintenance crews have been in the field ensuring flood defence infrastructure is working optimally, and continues to protect communities and large agriculture and horticulture operations. This infrastructure includes stopbanks, flood walls and drainage canals.

Ms McTavish says residents can find information on Regional Council’s role by heading to the ‘Flood Hub’ on its website.

“This is where people can find further information on our role and who they should contact for information during a local emergency.

“People can also access real time information on water levels across the region’s river and lakes catchment through our Environmental Data portal.”

Further information

• Regional Council Flood Room: https://www.boprc.govt.nz/living-in-the-bay/emergencies/flood-room 
• Rain data portal: https://envdata.boprc.govt.nz/Data
• Bay of Plenty Civil Defence: https://www.bopcivildefence.govt.nz/ 
• State Highway and Traffic information: www.nzta.govt.nz

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