Southlanders still picking up pieces after the storm

Communities are picking up the pieces in Southland one week after a storm took its toll on the region, where more than 2800 properties are still without power.

Last Thursday, the region copped the full brunt of extreme weather which was described by district mayor Rob Scott as the most intense he'd ever experienced.

A state of emergency has been extended for another week, and Emergency Management Southland is encouraging people to continue checking on friends, whānau and neighbours.

PowerNet says supplies for repairs are flowing into the south but around 2820 Southlanders remain without power.

In Invercargill, mayor Tom Campbell said the clean-up was well under way with a focus on inspecting parks and reserves.

“Queens Park is being inspected tree by tree and arborists are already clearing up, but it will be a long process and I don’t have a reopening date,” Campbell said on Thursday.

Trees toppled en masse across the city, and the council was concerned people were still accessing parks and reserves despite repeated warnings.

Most of those spaces remained closed in Invercargill, with a similar status in place for the district's parks, reserves and playgrounds.

External support has been committed to Southland to the tune of $75,000 from the Mayoral Relief Fund, and $50,000 from the Ministry for Primary Industries — split with Clutha.

According to joint numbers from insurers AMI, State and NZI, more than 1100 claims were made in the region for wild weather events this month.

Community events are being held to provide some support.

Barbecues have taken place at Woodlands and Riverton/Aparima, while Tokanui, Dipton, Ōtautau and Mossburn are all gearing up for their turn.

Community hubs are also open for power, internet and showers.

New technology assists emergency management

A new public safety network has been made available to both Emergency Management Southland and NEMA on a temporary basis to assist with communication.

The network is administered by government entity Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) and offers a range of functions for first responders.

Those include roaming across Spark and One NZ networks, special priority for phone-use during emergencies, and maps showing network statuses.

NGCC chief technical director Steve Lawrence said Kiwis came together during times of crisis and making the network available on a temporary basis was "the right thing to do”.

Environment Southland GIS team leader Geoff Welch said the network had been used to check cell coverage for welfare and operational staff as well as flood monitoring teams.

“It has been very useful for both, as has the speed with which the team were able to grant us access, which is vital in these response situations,” Welch said.

 - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.