Aerial footage shows widespread flooding of farmland near Nelson, as region mops up from Gita

February 21, 2018

Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi and Primary Industries Minister Damien O'Connor assess the damage of ex-cyclone Gita.

Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi and Primary Industries Minister Damien O’Connor flew by helicopter with Civil Defence director Sarah Stuart-Black to assess the damage in the wake of ex-cyclone Gita.

The pair met with the two mayors of the wider Nelson region - Tasman's Richard Kempthorn and Nelson's Rachel Reese.

The area was declared in a state of emergency, which hasn’t lifted yet.

Local Civil Defence at the control centre told the Ministers that Takaka wasn’t as badly affected as anticipated in the end. There were some blind spots where they thought some people were trapped but they’ve had teams out on the road to check those areas.

Kris Faafoi took the time to thank the team at the local Civil Defence control centre for their efforts throughout Gita.

"Thank you for your work over the last 36-48 hours as you prepared for Gita and responding to it now. The work done in preparation has put us in good stead now."

Barges with food supplies are being brought in this afternoon and larger coastal barges will also be available in areas further out.

Medical supplies are being picked up from the ambulance service in Nelson, which will come on board the helicopter with the Ministers. When they reach Golden Bay they’ll deliver them to the clinic there to help out local supplies that are starting to dwindle due to the difficult access in and out of the area. 

Takaka Hill is being assessed and is expected to be closed for several days.

There’s processes in place for getting fuel to several affected areas to ensure emergency vehicles can top up.

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