Bluecliffs, Southland state of emergency declared as erosion threatens lives and homes

By RNZ

A local state of emergency has been declared in a Southland community because of concerns about threats to life and homes from erosion.

Heavy rain and sea swell has caused increased erosion of the banks at Bluecliffs township and landfill.

Emergency Management controller Simon Mapp said residents should be prepared to evacuate at short notice, but it was not required yet.

“Declaring this local emergency means we’re able to take steps for a physical opening of the bar at the Waiau River mouth to manage the river flow causing erosion.

“At this stage we’re building our technical understanding of the risks in the area and what might be possible to provide this community with some more time to manage their retreat.”

The opening of the bar would be weighed against the risks.

“This is a highly volatile area and that makes this a very difficult engineering task,” Mapp said in a statement.

Southland district mayor Rob Scott said conversations had been happening with the residents for some time.

“We have been open with the community that this work comes with its own risks, and is most likely not going to provide a permanent solution, but will buy us time.”

The district council and Environment Southland had been monitoring the area since the September 2023 floods.

“This enables us to move quickly to open up the mouth of the Waiau and protect the properties and landfill from further erosion.”

Southland District Council started work to remove the community landfill last year which is eroding into the sea.

That work was halted after reports of explosives being buried in the landfill.

The council was considering options to manage the risk and remove the landfill.

Alternative accommodation was available if residents felt unsafe.

The council was working with Meridian Energy on river flows.