Weekly Cyclone Gabrielle update from Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst's weekly update on Cyclone Gabrielle recovery efforts.

This week, Government lifted the National Emergency declaration; however, this does not mean the active response for those in need will stop.

For our isolated and most impacted communities, the support through community hubs will continue for as long as it is needed.

We continue to help co-ordinate deliveries to communities unable to get to Hastings for supplies and remain committed to regular engagement and discussion with affected communities, and to evolving said discussions so we can best help and support them.

We know people in affected areas are anxiously waiting for decisions about their ability to rebuild their homes and communities, and we are urging Government to make decisions on red-zone areas, if any, as soon as possible.

This is the biggest natural disaster our region has ever seen, and our teams remain fully focused on the recovery. At least 250 council staff have been involved in the response to date.

It has included staff from across the organisation – from our libraries to facilities, City Assist, finance, strategy, communities and HR functions – all pulled from their day jobs to join the efforts to support our hard-hit communities.

Our infrastructure teams have so far repaired 1520 kilometres of roads, and are investigating, monitoring and repairing bridges and water networks, and assessing and making our parks and reserves safe again.

We have 84 contracting firms employing more than 1000 people, restoring services and access and collecting flood-damaged household items and silt. Identifying a solution for residential and rural silt has been a priority, and we have worked through a number of logistical issues to enable cyclone-related silt disposal.

To advise an address for rural or residential silt collection, please call 0800 108 838 and press ‘2′ for cyclone-related waste collections.

You will be asked a few questions to enable our collection teams to select the right collection and disposal options. We are asking residents to provide information on the general make-up of the silt to allow our team to select the right site for disposal.

We don’t expect residents to sift through their silt, but rather to assist our teams to be informed and prepared to deal with the collection.

Please do not put silt on the verge outside your property until you have contacted 0800 108 838 to organise a collection.

There is a large amount of silt being moved onto roadsides already which is entering drains and gutters, greatly increasing the risk of flooding should there be more rain, even mild to moderate amounts. So, please leave silt on your property until you have arranged collection and are advised of the next steps to take.

Many, many people within our communities have helped with supporting others that have been affected, and we thank each and every one of you.

You have shown kindness, generosity and compassion for others, giving huge amounts of your time to help clean up properties and making donations for those worst affected.

We know that we still have a long way to go for our region to recover from this devastating event, but we will Build Better Together.