Asbestos closes road in wake of wild winds (+ video)

Specialist contractors clean up asbestos roofing in Plunket St last night. Photo by Gregor...
Specialist contractors clean up asbestos roofing in Plunket St last night. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Part of a large tree blocks Reid Rd, near Peter Johnstone Park in Mosgiel, after being downed by...
Part of a large tree blocks Reid Rd, near Peter Johnstone Park in Mosgiel, after being downed by heavy wind overnight. Photo by Linda Robertson.
Crews tackle a vegetation fire in a compost heap at Green Waste in McLeods Rd, Burnside,...
Crews tackle a vegetation fire in a compost heap at Green Waste in McLeods Rd, Burnside, yesterday. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Smoke rises from a fire in a greenwaste pit at Burnside in Dunedin this morning. The fire has...
Smoke rises from a fire in a greenwaste pit at Burnside in Dunedin this morning. The fire has been burning since early yesterday, Photo by Debbie Porteous

A South Dunedin street remained closed last night after roofing containing asbestos was blown off a building and shattered on the road below during gale-force winds overnight on Wednesday.

It was among a string of wind-related incidents as gusts reaching more than 130kmh in some areas wreaked havoc.

Two large trees were downed in Mosgiel and the winds fanned the flames of a vegetation fire in Burnside.

Specialist contractors worked in Plunket St, St Kilda, last night, cleaning up the asbestos roofing debris.

The roofing was blown off a shed at Forbury Park Trotting Club and fell on to the road below, general manager Rodney Moore said.

"It caught a corner of the horse sawdust pit, a sheet got caught and blew off and, unfortunately, it shattered on Plunket St,'' he said last night.

Staff became aware of the issue about 2pm yesterday and immediately called in specialist contractors.

The road remained closed overnight while awaiting a final inspection and sign-off, he said.

"Everything's been removed. We have got the company coming back in the morning to look at the balance of the roof.''

He understood the health risk to residents was minimal, despite the potentially hazardous nature of the material.

"The precaution is simply in using the experienced people to clean it up,'' he said.

The road was closed about 3pm and police assisted with establishing cordons, a police spokeswoman said.

Residents were unaware of what was taking place, some telling the Otago Daily Times they had come home to find the road closed, and hazard-suit wearing workers and flashing lights in the distance.

An Otago Regional Council spokeswoman said the council would be liaising with the Dunedin City Council today to ascertain what action was required.

MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said overnight gusts on Wednesday had reached more than 100kmh in some areas; 131kmh was recorded at Swampy Summit and 117kmh at Nugget Point.

Gusts reached 94kmh at Dunedin Airport.

Strong winds battered Otago yesterday morning; 81kmh was recorded at Alexandra Airport at 7am.

Dunedin City Council parks operations manager Hamish Black said two large trees were downed in Mosgiel.

A tree in Anzac Park had fallen in the winds, blocking a footpath and part of Church St, although traffic was not affected, he said.

Asplundh staff were on site early yesterday and removed the tree by late morning.

Part of another large tree was toppled in Reid Rd near Peter Johnstone Park.

There were reports of other more minor issues involving branches in other parts of the city, Mr Black said.

The winds also fanned a vegetation fire in a compost pile at Green Waste in McLeods Rd, Burnside.

A Fire Service spokesman said appliances from four city stations - St Kilda, Roslyn, Lookout Point and Dunedin - were assisted by a tanker from the Otago Rural Fire Authority in fighting the fire.

The compost pile was "absolutely ginormous'' and measured about 100m by 50m, he said.

"They said it was massive,'' the spokesman said.

Firefighters were called to check smoke in the area about 7.45am and "found a fire burning in the back of Green Waste''.

About 20 firefighters were needed to tackle the blaze and had got it under control by about 3pm.

"It's not being treated as suspicious,'' the spokesman said.

"It was part of the natural composting process and it overheated.''

Green Waste director Bob Gillanders said the blaze was concerning and the company would be reviewing its methods as a result.

"Any fire is a serious issue and it shouldn't happen again,'' he said.

He would maintain a watching brief on the compost pile to ensure it did not reignite.

However, more wind and warm temperatures were predicted for the South.

Mr Adams said the MetService had issued several weather watches in the South Island. Winds expected to develop tomorrow.

The North Island would be worst affected but exposed areas on the east coast of the South Island should also be prepared for a possible battering.

The MetService expected to upgrade some of the watches to warnings today and it was a case of "wait and see'' for Otago, he said.

Rain watches were also issued for headwaters of lakes and rivers in Otago.

"It's going to be pretty showery through most of the weekend,'' he said.

Snow was also expected to fall to about 700m to 800m in the region and Dunedin's hill suburbs and inland Otago could be in for some, he said.

However, unseasonably warm weather was expected to accompany the mixed bag for Otago. Highs of of 14degC were predicted for Dunedin and Oamaru tomorrow, 13degC for Alexandra, and Queenstown and Wanaka were tipped to sneak into double digits.

timothy.brown@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement