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Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks at b

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Speaker 1: Follow this and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Warnings from Civil Defenses. The top of the South Island

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Speaker 2: prepares for more rain. Met Services issued a red heavy

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Speaker 2: rain warning for Tasman off the bank of three weeks

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Speaker 2: of rain saturating the region. It is a time of

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Speaker 2: caution for people in that area. Civil Defense Controller Alex

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Speaker 2: le Vertis joins us now for the latest. Alex, very

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Speaker 2: good afternoon to you.

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Speaker 3: Hello, Ode, How are you good?

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Speaker 2: Thank you?

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Speaker 1: What's the situation, Alex?

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Speaker 3: Well, we obviously we were when we woke up this morning.

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Speaker 3: We had an orange orange rain warning that was elevated

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Speaker 3: to a red. But we've we had planned for the

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Speaker 3: worst case scenario and we've managed to put a lot

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Speaker 3: of resources in place. We've built on the good work

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Speaker 3: that we had done last week or what the team

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Speaker 3: had done last week. We've got the new ZA and

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Speaker 3: the Defense Force over. We've got search and rescue teams,

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Speaker 3: We've got the fans rapid water teams, and we're going

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Speaker 3: to be placing them in strategic locations. We're opening up

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Speaker 3: for welfare centers and just I'm about to I've stepped

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Speaker 3: out of the EOC to take this call. But we're

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Speaker 3: about to put out an EMA, which is an electronic

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Speaker 3: messaging alert which we'll be asking all of those that

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Speaker 3: have been affected previously by flooding and if those that

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Speaker 3: are feeling unsafe to evacuate their properties because we just

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Speaker 3: can't take chances with the red warning.

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Speaker 2: Like you on the ground in the area, I'm in.

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Speaker 3: The EOC and that's based in Richmond, TDC.

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Speaker 1: Yes, Yeah, what are the worst areas?

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Speaker 3: Alick, So, the worst hit areas last week was multiple

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Speaker 3: valleys within Tasman so Tapawera, Rewalker, Motuweka. They've got multiple valleys,

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Speaker 3: multiple rivers and they were all hit. And the expectation

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Speaker 3: is now that this is a red warning, those places

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Speaker 3: are likely to be hit again. But that's on the

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Speaker 3: back of those places already a haven't been hit. It's

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Speaker 3: been wet, high ground, water very sodden, and it's just

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Speaker 3: going to add more misery to an already bleak situations.

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Speaker 2: Slips the primary concern here alec or rivers flooding. I

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Speaker 2: take it as a point of concern as well.

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Speaker 3: I think there's both, but it's it's rivers, it's rivers

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Speaker 3: at the moment, and last week those rivers had a

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Speaker 3: mind of their own and they've carved out new paths

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Speaker 3: and they've they've caused substantial damage to properties and it's

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Speaker 3: those same properties that are in the firing line again.

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Speaker 3: But yes, and along with that is roads, and obviously

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Speaker 3: in and out of Nelson and Tasman either side is

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Speaker 3: slips because we've got ranges on either side of us.

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Speaker 2: How long is this current with a situation expected to last.

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Speaker 3: So till at least tomorrow and then hopefully things will

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Speaker 3: care up. The prognosis going forward is that it will

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Speaker 3: care up, and we're expecting the heavy rain is starting

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Speaker 3: to come in now and then there will be a

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Speaker 3: time lapse in terms of the rivers depending on how

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Speaker 3: they respond, some of them arising rapidly now. But certainly

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Speaker 3: we'll be manning the EOC and have people on the

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Speaker 3: ground right through the night as well as tomorrow.

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Speaker 2: Where should people go for information and what advice have

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Speaker 2: you got for people in affected areas?

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Speaker 3: So thank you for that question. So, first of all,

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Speaker 3: that can go to the Nelson, Tasman and Civil Defense site.

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Speaker 3: But the message is clear from our perspective. Please if

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Speaker 3: you do not need to be on the roads. Do

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Speaker 3: not be on the roads please. And if you are

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Speaker 3: on the roads, do not take things likely. Do not

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Speaker 3: go into areas that have water in them because you

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Speaker 3: can get it to trouble no matter even if you're

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Speaker 3: in a four by four. Please stay away from the

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Speaker 3: rivers from a health from a health perspective in terms

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Speaker 3: of being washed away and also contamination. And look, just

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Speaker 3: take care of yourself, don't put your don't put your

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Speaker 3: life at risk. But this we need to take this

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Speaker 3: seriously and you need to look after yourself. Don't travel,

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Speaker 3: stay away from the rivers. If you've been flooded previously,

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Speaker 3: please evacuate now.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much for talking to us. Alec.

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Speaker 1: Can you stay safe out there?

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Speaker 3: Thank you?

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Speaker 2: Yes, that is Civil Defense Controller Alec la Verdez. And

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Speaker 2: if you are in the Nelson Tasman region, some important

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Speaker 2: information there and if you need to find out more,

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Speaker 2: just Google search for the Emergency Emergency Tasman Civil Defence

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Speaker 2: website and of got all the details there as well, right,

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Speaker 2: and also if you've got anything to share, then eight

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Speaker 2: hundred eighty ten eighty or text us on ninety two

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Speaker 2: ninety two yeah, yeah, Fingers crossed for you guys down there.

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