Community Response Group_Storm WarningBy: Jim Flewitt
It seems that almost daily we are advised through the news media of weather-related disasters occurring with what seems increasing frequency. They have included drought-linked bush fires, hurricanes, tornados, and floods – often recorded as larger and more powerful than anything measured before.
The recent floods in Napier, Wellington, Taranaki and Westland, which resulted in enormous environmental pollution when an old rubbish tip was washed into the Fox River, remind us that Mother Nature doesn’t discriminate where severe events are delivered.
Learnings from previous experiences play a large part in establishing response plans and understanding how events might develop. Napier received 242mm of rain in just 24 hours, and it should be acknowledged that as a one in 250 year event local planners may not have designed the storm water system to cope.