Land may be starting to dry out but it was still moving, and any rain was of concern.
Work crews were not comfortable about going into such areas with their machinery, and the public needed to be patient .
“We’re not telling them to go in. They’ve got a real good gauge because they’re standing on site.”
Mr Wilson said he had been at Otoko Hill during the previous weekend.
“You can hear it moving underneath you. You can hear water and you can also hear it groaning and the trees cracking.”
It was like that across the entire district.
Mr Wilson thanked those crews who were out in “very trying conditions”
Every road which was “out” was listed on the Gisborne District Council website, he said.
The website was the “one source of truth” on the condition of local roads, he said.
By clicking on to a road, the website shows where the closure is, why the road is closed and when repairs are scheduled to be completed.
Mr Wilson showed councillors a Civil Defence emergency welfare assessment dashboard.
The information it provided included —
21 cut-off households needing food supplies “There will be multiple days before we get there,” said Mr Wilson.
Two households needing medical support such as medicine or having to “come out” to receive medical treatment.
Six households requiring animal assistance such as hay for stock, dog food or stock removal.
Mr Wilson said it was possible to show more detailed information about the households, but he did not do so for privacy reasons.
A gigantic slip at Pehiri Road, at the 21-kilometre mark, shows the challenges facing road contractors. Gisborne District Council director of community lifelines David Wilson told councillors that the rocks which had fallen on the road were “massive” and needed to be broken up. The debris above the road was yet to come down. Roading contractors would not be able to work on site with that existing danger. The repair work was “not a simple fix”, said Mr Wilson. Picture supplied
