Historical emergencies

A state of local emergency is still in place in the Chatham Islands. Cyclone Pam remains an intense extra-tropical low, but will gradually move southeast away from the Islands over the next 48 hours. The National Crisis Management Centre stood down at 8pm on Tuesday 17 March, however the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management is continuing to monitor the situation and will coordinate assistance.

The current weather situation in Buller has subsided and surface flooding is dropping. However, further heavy rainfall is forecast for the Buller in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Buller Civil Defence encourages residents to make provisions and to prepare themselves as much as possible.

Mayor Len Brown says Auckland Council is cooperating closely with Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) on its Queensland fruit fly operation in central Auckland. The council is making resources available to MPI to assist with the operation. Len Brown urges all residents in the affected zones, and people moving in and out of the zones, to be vigilant and follow MPI guidelines. **Ministry for Primary Industries confirms fourth fruit fly find in controlled area** The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has confirmed a fourth fruit fly in Grey Lynn and believes it to be part of the same localised population as previous detections. A single male Queensland fruit fly was found on Sunday (22 February) in a trap inside the existing Controlled Area. There are no changes to the Controlled Area as a result of the find at this stage, says MPI Chief Operations Officer, Andrew Coleman. "We have been expecting to find more flies, so the latest detection is no surprise, and confirms that the trapping systems continues to be successful." "The find was close to the original detections, so we believe the fly is likely to be part of the same population." MPI has so far trapped three male fruit flies. A single unmated female was located at a residential property on Friday. MPI and its response partners, including GIA signatories KVH and PipfruitNZ, have moved quickly to respond to the fruit fly threat. MPI currently has more than 180 staff working in the field on the response. The response involves the use of movement controls, traps, public awareness and treatment. Stricter controls continue to be applied at New Zealand’s borders. During the weekend, ground staff laid bait in Zone A of the Controlled Area. It expects to lay bait in the rest of the area today. Ground-based spraying has also been completed under the fruiting trees where positive finds have been made. "We continue to appreciate the outstanding public support we have received for our movement controls," says Mr Coleman. "We have every confidence that our measures will effectively eradicate this population." **Further background about the Controlled Area Notice** All whole fresh fruit and vegetables (except for leafy vegetables and root vegetables) cannot be moved outside of the wider Controlled Area. Within the wider Controlled Area there is a smaller central Zone A (which takes in a circle 200 metres out from the initial find), and whole fruit and vegetables cannot be moved outside of this Zone at all. Residents within Zone A are asked to dispose of all store-bought fruit and vegetable waste in the special disposal bins that have been provided by MPI. Zone A residents are asked to leave any home-grown fallen fruit on the ground in their garden for inspection by MPI. Do not put home-grown produce in your MPI disposal bin. Zone B residents can continue to dispose of all fruit and vegetables in the MPI disposal bins which are distributed at convenient locations around the area. Fruit and vegetables can continue to be purchased and transported from outside the Controlled Area into the Controlled Area.

Mayor Len Brown says Auckland Council is cooperating closely with Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) on its Queensland fruit fly operation in central Auckland. The council is making resources available to MPI to assist with the operation. Len Brown urges all residents in the affected zones, and people moving in and out of the zones, to be vigilant and follow MPI guidelines. **Ministry for Primary Industries confirms fourth fruit fly find in controlled area** The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has confirmed a fourth fruit fly in Grey Lynn and believes it to be part of the same localised population as previous detections. A single male Queensland fruit fly was found on Sunday (22 February) in a trap inside the existing Controlled Area. There are no changes to the Controlled Area as a result of the find at this stage, says MPI Chief Operations Officer, Andrew Coleman. "We have been expecting to find more flies, so the latest detection is no surprise, and confirms that the trapping systems continues to be successful." "The find was close to the original detections, so we believe the fly is likely to be part of the same population." MPI has so far trapped three male fruit flies. A single unmated female was located at a residential property on Friday. MPI and its response partners, including GIA signatories KVH and PipfruitNZ, have moved quickly to respond to the fruit fly threat. MPI currently has more than 180 staff working in the field on the response. The response involves the use of movement controls, traps, public awareness and treatment. Stricter controls continue to be applied at New Zealand’s borders. During the weekend, ground staff laid bait in Zone A of the Controlled Area. It expects to lay bait in the rest of the area today. Ground-based spraying has also been completed under the fruiting trees where positive finds have been made. "We continue to appreciate the outstanding public support we have received for our movement controls," says Mr Coleman. "We have every confidence that our measures will effectively eradicate this population." **Further background about the Controlled Area Notice** All whole fresh fruit and vegetables (except for leafy vegetables and root vegetables) cannot be moved outside of the wider Controlled Area. Within the wider Controlled Area there is a smaller central Zone A (which takes in a circle 200 metres out from the initial find), and whole fruit and vegetables cannot be moved outside of this Zone at all. Residents within Zone A are asked to dispose of all store-bought fruit and vegetable waste in the special disposal bins that have been provided by MPI. Zone A residents are asked to leave any home-grown fallen fruit on the ground in their garden for inspection by MPI. Do not put home-grown produce in your MPI disposal bin. Zone B residents can continue to dispose of all fruit and vegetables in the MPI disposal bins which are distributed at convenient locations around the area. Fruit and vegetables can continue to be purchased and transported from outside the Controlled Area into the Controlled Area.

The Ministry for Primary Industries is taking urgent action to eradicate the fruit fly population discovered in Auckland and is confident of success given the resources and expertise at its disposal. See more details below.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) confirms that an isolated population of the Queensland fruit fly has been found in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn.

Mayor Len Brown says Auckland Council is cooperating closely with MPI on its Queensland fruit fly operation in central Auckland. The council is making resources available to MPI to assist with the operation. Len Brown urges all residents in the affected zones, and people moving in and out of the zones, to be vigilant and follow MPI guidelines. The following is the latest information from MPI; Further fruit fly found in Auckland The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) confirms that an isolated population of the Queensland fruit fly has been found in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. A resident of the higher-risk Zone A in the middle of the existing Controlled Area found a single fly in a lemon tree on his property, captured it and reported it to MPI. The fly was formally identified as a recently-emerged un-mated female adult fruit fly. This is the only fly that has been found, over and above the initial trapped fly found earlier this week. Chief Operations Officer Andrew Coleman says thanks must go to the resident who captured and reported the fly, allowing MPI to act swiftly to scope the problem. “Our investigators immediately visited the property concerned where they found lemons and plums containing Queensland fruit fly larvae,” Mr Coleman says. “In total, at close of operations last night, MPI confirmed that one fly, 39 larvae and one pupa had been found at the property.” The Ministry and its response partners, including GIA signatories KVH and PipfruitNZ, are now deploying significant resources to respond to this localised detection. “We have every confidence that treatment will quickly and effectively eradicate this population. We have successfully eradicated previous incursions of fruit fly – notably the Mediterranean fruit fly in Auckland in 1996.” Mr Coleman says initial treatment will involve placing bait in fruiting trees to attract and kill female fruit flies. The bait will be applied high up in trees and plants, away from children or pets. “A second line of treatment will involve some targeted ground-based spraying of areas under fruiting trees where positive finds have been made. This involves using an insecticide that is safe for use in residential areas and has been proven to do no harm to people or animals such as family pets or livestock. “No use of aerial spraying will be required,” Mr Coleman says. MPI advises members of the public that the existing controls on fruit and vegetable movements remain largely the same with the previously defined wider Controlled Area remaining the same. The only change is to the scale of the higher-risk Zone A which has been slightly extended. This will be communicated to the Auckland public as soon as possible. The instructions for residents inside the Controlled Area also remain the same – whole fresh fruit and vegetables (except for leafy vegetables and root vegetables) cannot be moved outside of the defined area. This is to ensure that fruit flies are not spread outside of the area. Detailed maps of the controlled area and a full description of the boundaries, and full information about the rules are at www.mpi.govt.nz An additional export restriction zone now extends for 3.5km from the location of the last detection. Produce susceptible to fruit fly grown within this zone cannot be exported. New Zealand markets for horticultural produce have been notified of the situation. Andrew Coleman says since Tuesday MPI has introduced more stringent risk assessment of all pathways (cargo, craft, mail and passengers) and heightened awareness by front line quarantine inspectors. This includes more international air passengers’ luggage now going through x-ray and implementing 100% passenger and luggage screening by an MPI Detector Dog at international airports. This could mean some minor inconvenience for inbound passengers, but is necessary given the risk to New Zealand. If it became established here, the Queensland fruit fly could have serious consequences for New Zealand’s horticultural industry. It can damage a wide range of fruit and vegetables and could lead to restrictions on trade in some of our horticultural exports. It can also have impacts on home gardens. Further background about the Controlled Area Notice: All whole fresh fruit and vegetables (except for leafy vegetables and root vegetables) cannot be moved outside of the wider Controlled Area. Within the wider Controlled Area there is a smaller central Zone A (which takes in a circle 200 metres out from the initial find), and whole fruit and vegetables cannot be moved outside of this Zone at all. Residents within Zone A are asked to dispose of all store-bought fruit and vegetable waste in the special disposal bins that have been provided by MPI. Zone A residents are asked to leave any home-grown fallen fruit on the ground in their garden for inspection by MPI. Do not put home-grown produce in your MPI disposal bin. Zone B residents can continue to dispose of all fruit and vegetables in the MPI disposal bins which are distributed at convenient locations around the area. Fruit and vegetables can continue to be purchased and transported from outside the Controlled Area into the Controlled Area.

As part of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) surveillance programme, a single male Queensland fruit fly has been found in a trap in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. MPI has placed controls on the movement of whole fresh fruit and vegetables within a specified 1.5 kilometre zone around Grey Lynn.

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING. ISSUED BY MetService AT 8:57pm 17-Dec-2014 URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST IN: Bay Of Plenty Rotorua, Gisborne, Nelson, Coromandel Peninsula HEAVY RAIN IN THE NORTHEAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND EASING OVERNIGHT, BUT FURTHER HEAVY RAIN FOR NORTHWEST NELSON UNTIL EARLY THURSDAY MORNING

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING. ISSUED BY MetService AT 6:14 pm 17-Dec-2014 Heavy rain for the northeast of the North Island and also northwest Nelson A moist northeasterly flow over the North Island today is bringing a period of heavy rain to the northeast of the North Island. The heaviest falls are expected about the Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne, where a further 70 to 110mm could accumulate in a 6 to 9 hour period this evening and tonight, (this is on top of the rain which has already fallen during the day). Meanwhile, periods of heavy rain are expected to continue in northwest Nelson through to Thursday morning where a further 80mm could accumulate about the ranges. Heavy rain about the Coromandel Peninsula should ease early this evening, but another 20 to 40mm could accumulate there. People are advised that streams and rivers are likely to rise rapidly, and heavy rain could cause surface flooding, slips and make driving hazardous. HEAVY RAIN WARNING AREA/S AFFECTED Coromandel Peninsula FORECAST Heavy rain is expected to ease early this evening, but south of Whangamata another 20 to 40mm could accumulate between 6pm and 8pm. Peak intensities of around 20mm per hour are possible with thunderstorms. AREA/S AFFECTED Bay of Plenty west of Kawerau FORECAST Heavy rain is expected to ease this evening. In the 4 hours from 6pm to 10pm Wednesday, expect a further 40 to 80mm to accumulate on top of what has alreday fallen. Peak intensities of around 25mm per hour are possible with thunderstorms. AREA/S AFFECTED Remainder of Bay of Plenty (from Kawerau eastwards) and also Gisborne north of Ruatoria FORECAST Further heavy rain is expected this evening, then ease early Thursday morning. In the 8 hours from 6pm Wednesday to 2am Thursday, expect another 70 to 110mm to accumulate on top of what has already fallen. Peak intensities of around 25-30mm per hour are possible with thunderstorms.

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING. ISSUED BY MetService AT 6:14 pm 17-Dec-2014 Heavy rain for the northeast of the North Island and also northwest Nelson A moist northeasterly flow over the North Island today is bringing a period of heavy rain to the northeast of the North Island. The heaviest falls are expected about the Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne, where a further 70 to 110mm could accumulate in a 6 to 9 hour period this evening and tonight, (this is on top of the rain which has already fallen during the day). Meanwhile, periods of heavy rain are expected to continue in northwest Nelson through to Thursday morning where a further 80mm could accumulate about the ranges. Heavy rain about the Coromandel Peninsula should ease early this evening, but another 20 to 40mm could accumulate there. People are advised that streams and rivers are likely to rise rapidly, and heavy rain could cause surface flooding, slips and make driving hazardous. HEAVY RAIN WARNING AREA/S AFFECTED Coromandel Peninsula FORECAST Heavy rain is expected to ease early this evening, but south of Whangamata another 20 to 40mm could accumulate between 6pm and 8pm. Peak intensities of around 20mm per hour are possible with thunderstorms. AREA/S AFFECTED Bay of Plenty west of Kawerau FORECAST Heavy rain is expected to ease this evening. In the 4 hours from 6pm to 10pm Wednesday, expect a further 40 to 80mm to accumulate on top of what has alreday fallen. Peak intensities of around 25mm per hour are possible with thunderstorms. AREA/S AFFECTED Remainder of Bay of Plenty (from Kawerau eastwards) and also Gisborne north of Ruatoria FORECAST Further heavy rain is expected this evening, then ease early Thursday morning. In the 8 hours from 6pm Wednesday to 2am Thursday, expect another 70 to 110mm to accumulate on top of what has already fallen. Peak intensities of around 25-30mm per hour are possible with thunderstorms.

NOT TO BE BROADCAST AFTER 09:00pm Wednesday 17-Dec-2014

MetService have advised that thunderstorms may form in Auckland. The highest risk period is between 3pm - 7pm today, with stronger thunderstorms more likely in southern parts of the region. Where thunderstorms form, surface flooding is likely and localised flooding of streams.

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING A front preceded by strong northeasterlies moves south over the North Island today (Wednesday 17 December), bringing a period of heavy rain to the northeast of the North Island. The heaviest falls are expected about the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne.

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING. ISSUED BY MetService AT 9:25 pm 18-Oct-2014 Period of heavy rain for the eastern Bay of Plenty A front over northern New Zealand is expected to move slowly eastwards across the North Island overnight Saturday and during Sunday morning and become slow moving over East Cape Sunday afternoon. A moist northwest flow ahead of this front is expected to bring a period of heavy rain to the eastern Bay of Plenty. 80 to 100mm of rain could accumulate in the eastern Bay of Plenty in an 18 hour period from midnight Saturday. The frontal rainband should weaken Sunday evening. People are advised that this rain could make rivers and stream rise quickly, cause slips and surface flooding and make driving hazardous. HEAVY RAIN WARNING AREA/S AFFECTED Bay of Plenty east of Whakatane FORECAST Rain is expected to become heavy overnight Saturday. In the 18 hours from midnight Saturday to 6pm Sunday, 80 to 100mm of rain is likely. Heaviest rain rates could reach 15 to 20mm per hour at times. NEXT SEVERE WEATHER WARNING WILL BE ISSUED AT OR BEFORE 9:00 am Sunday 19-Oct-2014

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING. ISSUED BY MetService AT 7:36 pm 19-Oct-2014 Heavy rain about the ranges of eastern Bay of Plenty has eased and the warning for this area is lifted The rain has eased over the ranges of eastern Bay of Plenty and the warning for this area is lifted. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE HEAVY RAIN WARNINGS HAVE BEEN LIFTED FOR: Bay of Plenty ranges east of Whakatane

Vector has advised power to most customers has been restored. Customers are still being asked to conserve energy as there are two more cables to bring into service over this afternoon and evening. There may be some areas in Orakei, St Heliers and Remuera that may have power interrupted during the peak demand period this evening. Vector strongly recommends that people continue to conserve power in affected areas. To reduce the load on the network Vector are limiting the power to hot water cylinders, you may experience a lower temperature than normal. The Auckland Emergency Coordination Centre remains activated and is monitoring the situation while the network is operating by being back fed.

Vector has advised power to most customers was restored overnight. This morning 324 customers are without power and Vector expect, all going well, to have these reconnected today. Currently large parts of the network are reliant on back feeding, so intermittent outages may occur depending on demand. Vector strongly recommends that people continue to conserve power in affected areas. NZTA note intersections are operational and they are working on three in Remuera. Due to power restoration, Spark only have 2 sites presently down while Vodafone has 3 down. Some of the sites need to be reconnected on site and engineers are working on reconnection. Healthcare facilities are all operational running on mains power. As some areas of Auckland continue to wait for power to be restored, there are health concerns over food premises and residents using food that may be spoiled. The Auckland Emergency Coordination Centre remains activated while some locations are still without power and is closely monitoring the situation while the network is operating by being back fed.

The Auckland Emergency Coordination Centre remains activated in response to power outages in parts of Auckland. Vector advise that approximately 18,000 customers remain without power this morning. Customers are mainly located in parts of Remuera, Saint Johns/Meadowbank, Mount Wellington, Sylvia Park and a small part of St Heliers. Vector request that customers in the east Auckland isthmus limit power usage so that more customers can be reconnected with back feeding. Vector worked through the night on affected cables and will have more certainty of actual restoration times later today. Nine intersections remain without power across Auckland, four of these are presently manned by NZ Police for traffic control. Bus and rail services are running without disruption. A number of cell sites are still down due to the power outage. Spark has 17 cell sites down as of 0900 hours but expect the majority of these to be running by 1300 hours. Vodafone have 19 cell sites down. All hospitals are now on mains power. St John are working with individuals in the affected area that rely on medical alarms. Health services also have coordinated residential care teams working in affected areas to help vulnerable persons. As some areas of Auckland continue to wait for power to be restored, there are health concerns over food premises and residents using food that may be spoiled. Westerly winds are expected to be gusty in Auckland later today. Between 11am and 6pm, MetService expect that winds in exposed parts of the region could gust up to 100 km/hr. These winds are not expected to cause widespread damage but very localised power outages and trees down could occur during the afternoon.

Vector wishes to advise that crews have made good progress with restoring affected customers this afternoon. This brings the total number of customers out down to 39,600, down from the 85,000 out at the height of the substation fire this morning. Suburbs still affected by the damaged cables are Sylvia Park, Remuera, Mt Wellington, St Johns, Orakei and St Heliers - these customers are expected to be without power until Monday evening. Crews will continue to work Sunday night and throughout Monday in order to get customers restored as soon as possible. Major services such as water, sewerage and telecommunications are being kept operational by generators in affected areas. Traffic congestion and delays are expected in affected areas for Monday morning. Public transport is operating as normal but there are some delays to bus services. Generators have been provided for the traffic lights at key intersections and Police and Council contractors will be assisting to direct traffic where required.