Fierce winds battered the South on Monday — gusts reached 180kmh near Silverpeaks, Dunedin — with trees and structures across the region buckling.
Fulton Hogan Dunedin maintenance operations manager Tim Walker said crews responded to 32 incidents across the city on Monday, mostly fallen trees or branches that were blocking roads.
"That’s job one, make it safe for the road users and for our teams. And then when it becomes safe to do so, we go in and clear the situation or clear the hazard, tidy up what’s going on," he said.
The cleanup job, mainly fallen branches and twisted signs, would be ongoing over the coming days, particularly as more high winds were forecast, he said.
Mr Walker said council contractors responded to crew inspections and alerts from members of the public.
"We’ve got a number of teams who as soon as their everyday tasks are no longer viable because it’s too windy or too dangerous or the weather doesn’t allow for it, they just become available for us to use for inspections and for response, which is really handy."
He asked road-users to stay safe around roadworks and obey road closures and detours.
The MetService said another period of severe northwest gales was possible tomorrow and a wind watch or warning would likely be issued closer to the time.
Anzac Ave (State Highway 88) closed briefly yesterday while Delta arborists cleared debris and secured two damaged elms.
Council parks and recreation group manager Heath Ellis said the trees were inspected annually and pruned as needed to minimise risk to the public, but not all defects were easily detected and unpredictable failures could occur during "extreme conditions", as on Monday.
The elms along the avenue were planted in the 1920s to commemorate World War 1.
They and other local specimens remained in "generally good health", but would be inspected today to check for other damage, Mr Ellis said.
The council did not keep records of fallen branches from the trees, but was not aware of any injuries from such incidents.
