By Robin Martin of RNZ
The Taranaki Regional Council says vandals who attacked a flood monitoring station this week put people's lives and livelihoods at risk.
Director of environmental quality Abby Matthews said council hydrology officers discovered a small fire had been lit under one monitoring station, when undertaking routine checks on the network in the Upper Waitōtara catchment.
She said the stations send out automated phone alerts when rivers reach dangerous levels and are vitally important.
"What they've done has actually put people's lives and well-being at risk, so we take that very seriously and our sites and the work we do is critical to the well-being of people in our community.