Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Northlanders asked to upload flood photos for scientific analysis

Mike Dinsdale
By Mike Dinsdale
Editor. Northland Age·Northern Advocate·
16 Feb, 2022 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Scientists wanting Northlanders to send them flooding photos may be overwhelmed. The region floods regularly, with this dramatic rescue at Lemon's Hill, between Kawakawa and Ōpua in March 2007

Scientists wanting Northlanders to send them flooding photos may be overwhelmed. The region floods regularly, with this dramatic rescue at Lemon's Hill, between Kawakawa and Ōpua in March 2007

Scientists calling on Kiwis in flood-affected areas to contribute photos to a national database to support understanding of flood hazard and flood risk may be inundated with images from Northland, where flooding is a regular hazard.

Niwa is asking people in flood-affected areas to contribute photos to a national database to support understanding of flood hazard and flood risk.

The NZ Flood Pics project is part of a five-year Endeavour Fund research programme that is examining how flood risk will change over the next century from climate warming, more frequent and extreme weather events, and land-use changes.

As well as being used by Niwa and its research partners, the database will provide a free resource about recent floods in Aotearoa. It will be searchable by location, date and keyword.

Pumps at BP on Riverside Dr were off-limits after floodwater inundated the forecourt in July 2020
Pumps at BP on Riverside Dr were off-limits after floodwater inundated the forecourt in July 2020
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Northland floods regularly, with some dramatic scenes across the region in recent years. In fact flooding from storms is one of Northland's most likely natural disasters.

Northland was devastated by a storm on July 17-18, 2020 that dumped 220mm of rain on the region in a few hours. It caused widespread flooding across the region and caused more than $40 million of damage.

That was without the cost of repairing major slips on the Mangamuka Hills, south of Kaitaia, that closed State Highway 1 for more than a year.

Hikurangi Swamp is one of the most flood-prone areas in Northland.
Hikurangi Swamp is one of the most flood-prone areas in Northland.

Northlanders who want to send in their images can upload photos taken on smartphone via Niwa's citizen science app, which geolocates where the photo has been taken. There are also options to input more information about the flood.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We really hope that New Zealanders will help us capture photo evidence of floods across the country. These snapshots will build up our knowledge of where and when flood impacts occur," Dr Andrew Lorrey, Niwa principal scientist of climate and environmental applications, said.

"Floods are unfortunately increasing in frequency and severity across Aotearoa - meaning they pose one of the biggest risk areas for society. The photo database we're building will support new strategies to increase resilience - which is more important than ever."

Hikurangi Swamp farmer Geoff Crawford after the July 2020 storm
Hikurangi Swamp farmer Geoff Crawford after the July 2020 storm

Tonkin and Taylor Engineering Manager and flood risk expert Jon Rix, who pioneered the development of NZ Flood Pics, said efforts to protect people and property from floods in New Zealand have traditionally been hampered by the lack of actual flood information.

Floodwaters stream through the grounds of Otiria Marae on the outskirts of Moerewa during the storm of July 2020
Floodwaters stream through the grounds of Otiria Marae on the outskirts of Moerewa during the storm of July 2020

"Through the simple application of smartphone photography, NZ Flood Pics can provide a meaningful contribution toward reducing flood risk by providing direct evidence of floods. I am really excited by the development of Niwa's citizen science app, as we look to gather more information to support our country's flood management decision-making."

The app is free to use and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Whangārei faces first new local election voting system change in a generation

Opinion

Opinion: Māori Queen's first speech offers hope and positivity for the future

Premium
Northern Advocate

Bay News: Super yacht Lucky docks in Ōpua after record Pacific win


Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Whangārei faces first new local election voting system change in a generation
Northern Advocate

Whangārei faces first new local election voting system change in a generation

The district has used the First Past the Post system in elections since 2001.

10 Sep 05:00 PM
Opinion: Māori Queen's first speech offers hope and positivity for the future
Opinion

Opinion: Māori Queen's first speech offers hope and positivity for the future

10 Sep 04:30 PM
Premium
Premium
Bay News: Super yacht Lucky docks in Ōpua after record Pacific win
Northern Advocate

Bay News: Super yacht Lucky docks in Ōpua after record Pacific win

10 Sep 04:00 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP