Herries Memorial Park and go-kart track underwater following Cyclone Vaianu.

Thank you to everyone in our district for getting prepared for Cyclone Vaianu over the weekend. Those efforts made a real difference. Special thank you to our community groups, partners, marae, essential services and locals who stayed alert and ready to respond. As always, your support and coordination is greatly appreciated. 

While Cyclone Vaianu veered slightly east of our district, the next event could look very different. The way our community stepped up shows how important it is to stay ready, look out for each other, and take these warnings seriously every time.

Our main culverts and catchpits got cleared last week and were well-prepared to take the heavy rain; the flood monitoring worked well and was checked every half hour; and everyone staying off the roads helped to avoid accidents in the surface flooding.

Our Emergency Operations Centre was operating 24hrs to respond to the changing situation, and multi-agency briefings happened twice a day. A Civil Defence Centre was set up at the Silver Fern Farms Events Centre to give people a warm, dry place to go amid the rising river levels and extreme pressure on the wastewater system in Te Aroha.

The Emergency Operations Centre in action at Te Aroha Council Boardroom.

Our teams are now back to business as usual and we will continue to monitor the weather as we always do. However, a weather forecast is just that - a forecast. We work with the best available information we have, but weather is unpredictable by nature, and preparation is essential. Responding quickly can save lives.

If this event prompted you to think about what you would do in an emergency, that is a good step. Having a good handle on your options if you needed to evacuate, such as staying with family or friends, or what you would need if you had to stay in place. Storing enough food and water, and being able to manage without power for a few days, will help ensure your household is well prepared for future events.

We’ve added a Household Emergency Plan and Emergency Checklist to our website, so people can think through what would work best for their household. We also encourage everyone to get familiar with the advice on the Get Ready website. 

The debris catcher working well, stopping material entering the Whittaker Street culvert. The Wetlands Walk submerged underwater.

We know that some of you like to have a lot of information, and others prefer less. Our role is to lead response and recovery efforts in the district, so we will continue to share the information we feel is relevant or helpful in an emergency.

Our thoughts are with our neighbours and the communities who are still feeling the impacts of this event, especially over the hill. Please remember to stay mindful of hazards that may be around after the cyclone, such as surface flooding, debris, trees, slips and track changes.

To see the latest local updates, head to mpdc.nz/weather

 The Civil Defence Centre at Silver Fern Farms Event Centre on Sunday afternoon, and a friendly local bringing some kai to share.