Rising Above the Waters - AUT Project

‘Vulnerable’ Pacific countries must get maximum benefit from ‘loss and damage’ fund, Australian climate minister says Chris Bowen also says climate disaster fund will need to be bankrolled by broader-than-expected range of countries in speech ahead of Cop28

Third tropical cyclone could form next week

Let's think big picture and the Long Term Plan. “This year’s severe weather events really exposed the lack of resilience in our transportation network,” says Infrastructure Committee Chairman Simon Reid. "At the same time, economic conditions are tough and the costs of developing infrastructure have increased dramatically. These factors are shaping our thinking as we prepare the infrastructure budgets for the next 10 years as part of our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan."

🚗 On roading
“Our immediate focus is to invest in renewals and get our infrastructure where it needs to be. We need to get some basics right, like roadside drainage, shaping unsealed roads and making sure our facilities are weather tight. “Tackling outstanding road repairs from the last year will remain a big focus. With plans to fix the most complex slips locked in for the next 2-3 years, work is ramping up already this summer. “We have made significant progress, but some repair work will take time and building more resilient infrastructure is a major focus on for this Long Term Plan,” he said.

📈 Planning for growth
“There’s an opportunity now to make sure we plan well for growth and support development led by others. This includes the Hospital redevelopment and the Whangārei to Ruakākā expressway/rail network, Kāinga Ora housing developments and other significant private developments. “We also need to think about our communities’ growing sport and recreation needs. We’ll be identifying the location and scope of our future Sports Hub to take pressure off existing facilities such as Kensington. “Bream Bay and Northern areas are under growth pressure and some key investments will be required to absorb the growth of these communities now and in future,” said Cr Reid.

🌧 Climate resilience
“We need more focus on our coastal and other communities affected by recent weather events. In this LTP we’ll look at how we protect our City Centre as well as working through resilience plans within different catchments. Our new Coastal Policy will be aimed at working with communities to find sustainable solutions."

🛴 City centre
“In addition to flood protection, a key challenge is to keep our City Centre accessible for everyone. As we see vacant sites developed, we need sufficient parking in the right areas and to implement some of the improvements signalled in our City Centre Plan. In parallel to this, we’ll continue to improve roads to support vehicles and buses that take more passengers. Completing cycle connections will help us achieve the full benefits of our shared path network. Finally, while we won’t be able to do everything, completing key city centre projects, will allow us to connect our Town Basin and city centre together vibrantly to promote economic growth of our City. Affordability is going to be a major consideration as we consult with our wider community in early 2024."

Interesting point of view

Opinion: Aotearoa’s most ambitious response to climate change and the biodiversity crisis Climate change is causing increasingly frequent and severe weather events.

Auckland Council to offer grants so homes can better withstand bad weather An estimated 100 owners of storm damaged homes will receive grants to future-proof their properties and continue living in them.

This is one of the many problems that crops up following severe weather events - now, our waterways are in question.

Concerns for water quality around New Zealand ahead of summer swim season Sixteen percent of our rivers are unsuitable for swimming and caution is advised for 14 percent.

'We aren’t quite out of the woods yet' - Slip warnings in Hawke's Bay after deluge Roads have been cut-off and communities isolated in Wairoa following the downpours.

More information on the current floods.

The Wairoa River - when the mouth opened, it all went

Our thoughts are with the people of Gisborne. Stay safe 💚

River levels and evacuations ease for Gisborne, rest of country enjoys fine weather Gisborne is "heading out of the woods" as heavy rain warnings and water levels drop, following early morning evacuations across the region.

Latest Heavy Rain Warnings. Gisborne and Wairoa District can expect a further 80-100mm from now until 8am Sunday. Peak rates may be higher in Gisborne, reaching 10-20mm/hr with thunderstorms. Rainfall accumulations are no longer expected to reach warning levels between Napier and the Wairoa District. For full details head to http://bit.ly/AllWarnings