The state of emergency for Tararua District has been lifted after almost three weeks.
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty said the government had ended the states of national emergency declared on 14 February over the Northland, Auckland, and Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group areas and the Tararua District.
McAnulty gave notice of a national transition period for these areas, which came into effect yesterday.
Tairawhiti [Gisborne] and Hawke’s Bay are still in an active response phase and will remain under a state of national emergency until further notice.
A national transition period enabled a seamless transition from the emergency response phase to the recovery stage, McAnulty said.
He said it provided local Civil Defence teams with the powers they may need during the early stages of recovery, such as clearing roads and disposing of dangerous materials.
The national transition period also enabled remedial works to be carried out – for example, restoring access to cut-off properties or making temporary infrastructure repairs.
“The National Emergency Management Agency [NEMA] has met with the affected Civil Defence Emergency Management groups about the move to a national transition period. This is similar to what was done after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake,” McAnulty said.
NEMA is also working with affected districts in Wairarapa to understand if they should also be included in the national transition period. A decision on this is expected in the next week.
McAnulty said communities in the northern and eastern parts of the North Island were still feeling the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Recovery would be a long haul, and the government is committed to a locally-led approach, he said.
“Once again, I want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of everyone contributing to what was now one of New Zealand’s most significant emergency responses and assure impacted communities that the government will continue to stand alongside you for as long as it takes to recover from the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.”
