South Island Severe Weather Warnings #1
Heavy rain and wind warnings are in place for parts of the South Island, including Fiordland, Otago and Canterbury as a major weather system moves over the country.
Reports state that Westland is expected to be hit the hardest with up to 800mm of rain predicted. MetService has issued Orange heavy rain warnings, with the potential for an upgrade to Red Warnings.
We are monitoring the weather warnings closely. Planning is underway between our National Coordination Centre (NCC) and Regional leadership for Te Kei and Te Ihu, looking at what specialist supports may be needed and where, including where specialist water rescue teams may be deployed. We anticipate the NCC will move to a ‘monitoring’ status tomorrow morning.
Communities are being warned about the increased risk of flooding and slips. We encourage personnel to prepare by completing the Landslide awareness module and checking out National Notices that may be useful for working safely around floodwaters, decontamination and hygiene, wet or contaminated PPE, and landslips.
National Notice 008/2023: Important information to keep yourself safe around floodwaters
National Notice 010/2023: Staying safe in flood waters and high winds
National Notice 013/2023: Emergency personal decontamination and hygiene
National Notice 026/2023: Important information to keep yourself safe around floodwaters
National Notice 027/2023: Wet or contaminated PPE
National Notice 028/2023: Safety around landslips and land subsidence
For the latest weather warnings follow MetService, NZ Civil Defence and your local Civil Defence page for emergency warnings and advice.
If you are impacted by the weather, get in touch with your Group Manager or line manager.