NIWA principal scientist Chris Brandolino is with us to take us through what’s causing this stormy weather, and whether there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The reach of radio and the kindness of community have combined to help an elderly amputee with a tree on his house - and all within an hour.
Gore great-grandmother Rhonda Wilson emerged from her home on the southern side of the Southland town after Thursday’s big blow to discoverher home had come through unscathed, but her neighbour’s had a decent-sized macrocarpa or pine on it.
“It [fell down] in the worst of the weather, actually I didn’t even hear it because there was so much noise going on.”
Once the wind calmed, Wilson went to check on the man, who lives alone.
“I said, ‘Are you okay?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m all right – it’s just there’s a tree on the house’.”
The man’s home didn’t appear to be damaged but Wilson was concerned the tree could still cause problems for her vulnerable neighbour, so she tried to contact Emergency Management Southland for help.
A tree came down on a house in Gore during Thursday's severe winds but the community has worked together to remove it from the property where an elderly amputee lives.
However, she wasn’t able to get through, putting the failure down to the communication outages that are still affecting parts of the region.
But the message got through this morning, with Emergency Management Southland forwarding Wilson’s message to Hokonui Breakfast with Chitty host Kirstin Chittock, who put out an SOS to her listeners on air and online.
“We received a message from Emergency Management Southland about a local resident … who needs urgent help after a tree has fallen on his roof,” wrote Chittock on Facebook this morning, including the man’s address in her post.
“The homeowner has a disability, and the situation is beyond what neighbours can manage. If you or someone you know has the equipment or ability to safely assist, please get in touch or head along if it’s safe to do so.”
Hokonui Breakfast with Chitty host Kirstin Chittock. Photo / NZME
By 10.35am, Chittock had posted an update.
“All sorted, that didn’t even take an hour – incredible.”
Wilson said she’d barely got out of her house to tell her neighbour about the Facebook post when someone was knocking on the man’s door.
“There was a guy there, and I think there’s been another since, so between them they should get it sorted.”
After assessing the scene they were expected back this afternoon to get the job done, and without payment, Wilson said.
She didn’t know who the men were but was grateful for their “community service”.
And she knew who to go to next time she or a neighbour were in need.
“Once [Emergency Management Southland got the message] we were all go – because they sent it to Chitty.”
