1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: Dunedin remains in a state of emergency after seeing its 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: wettest day in more than a century, with twice the 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: usual October rainfall falling in just forty hours. The red 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: weather warning for North Otago, Dunedin and coastal parts of 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: the Kluther region is in place until eleven o'clock tonight. 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: More than eighty people were evacuated from their homes overnight 7 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: and nearly forty roads are currently closed. Emergency Management Minister 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: Mark Mitchell headed to Dunedin yesterday afternoon and is with 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: us Key Older. Good afternoon evening, Jack. What's the latest. 10 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 2: Well, I mean they're still in a state of emergency. 11 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 2: The rain is still falling. But the look they've had 12 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 2: an outstanding response. They were proactive in terms of clearing drains, 13 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 2: checking waterways, doing all that they could to try and 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 2: make sure the water could actually escape. But the reality 15 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 2: of it is is that as the soil is so 16 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 2: sodden that it's got nowhere to go, and it's particularly 17 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 2: when you look in at an area like South Dunedin, 18 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 2: it's very low lying. Obviously overnight there were some real 19 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 2: issues and with people self evacuating to evacuate centers that 20 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 2: had been set up. 21 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: How's the response going so far? 22 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 2: The response has been outstanding, from the mayors, the cees, 23 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 2: through the controllers, the entire team, the volunteers. I mean 24 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 2: I was at you know, Saint Clair's golf Club which 25 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 2: they set up as an evacuation center, a NET and 26 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 2: her team, all volunteers turned out, stretchers out there looking 27 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 2: after families as they came. And so you know, as keys, 28 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 2: we always seem to stand up and respond strongly when 29 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: there's a need, and that's exactly what's happened, down to 30 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 2: need and as they're looking after each other. 31 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: Yeah right, Okay, just tell us what it's been like 32 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: to experience experience some of this over the last day 33 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: or so. 34 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 2: It's always it's always tough, and I mean I get 35 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 2: on the ground immediately because there's only one way of 36 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 2: knowing really what is going on, and that's not sitting 37 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 2: in the office in Wellington that's actually been on the ground. 38 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 2: The other part, of course, is I get to work 39 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: with the Meyers and make sure that at central government 40 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 2: level we're surging any support that NET is required in 41 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 2: you know, obviously on policemen. So I'm very proud of 42 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 2: the work that all our first responders do. But the 43 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 2: police have been outstanding and I even got deployed myself. 44 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 2: At about one o'clock this morning. There was a young 45 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 2: mum that turned up at Saint Claire's Golf Club, one 46 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 2: of the evacuation centers, in her haste to get out 47 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 2: with her two little kids. She didn't have a milk bottle, 48 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 2: and so at one o'clock in the morning, I was 49 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 2: tasked to go and try and find a milk bottle 50 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 2: and need and get it up there, which we did. 51 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: But I guess it's just indicative the meal was out 52 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 2: filling sandbags. Everyone just gets in, the people that that 53 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 2: I get to see in the work that they do, 54 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 2: the volunteers that turn out, you know, the rural people 55 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: looking after their stock. I mean, the farmer has been 56 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 2: hit very hard. Their us have got lambs at foot 57 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 2: at the moment, they're really getting knocked around. But everyone 58 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 2: just sort of gets in and helps each other. 59 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:51,079 Speaker 1: Where'd you get the bottle? 60 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 2: Uh? Well, we found we found a twenty four hour 61 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 2: store at the Octagon that thankfully had that had two 62 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 2: that had two baby bottles. We managed to get it sorted. 63 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: I'm pleased to hear it. So what's your biggest concern 64 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: going forward? 65 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 2: Well, I mean it's just we want to get through it. 66 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 2: The rain is still falling. I was talking to Brian 67 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 2: car Dagan, who's the mayor of Klutho. They've just gone 68 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 2: into a local state of emergency also primarily because State 69 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 2: High one is flooded north of Milton, and they just 70 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 2: when you go into a lost state of emergency then 71 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 2: gives the police the powers sort of additional powers to 72 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 2: keep people out of flood waters and keep them safe. 73 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 2: But you know, we just want to get through the 74 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 2: next few hours. The weather, the forecasting that's been provided 75 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 2: has been pretty accurate, so that's a good sign because 76 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 2: it is going to ease off later on tonight. But 77 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 2: everyone just needs wants to get there. 78 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: Have there been requests for additional funding or are you 79 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: expecting those in the coming days. 80 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 2: No, there hasn't, but of course we're on standby support 81 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 2: any way that we can. From a central government point 82 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 2: of view. The Prime Minister's was right across this. This 83 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 2: is my sixth local state of emergency since I've become 84 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 2: the minister. So we just have to accept as a 85 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 2: country we are going to be hit with these weather events. 86 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 2: The one thing that I would say that what I've 87 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 2: observed is that the mayor's counselors, councils, ces, the controllers, 88 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 2: and everyone involved with emergency response has been outstanding everywhere 89 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 2: that I've been. 90 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: When do you expect we will be at a point 91 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: when the worst of this has definitely passed. 92 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 2: I'd like to think it about midnight tonight. We still 93 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 2: had a high tide to go through, but I'd like 94 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,160 Speaker 2: to think that the rain will start to ease off 95 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 2: and we'll see some better weather tomorrow. Yeah. 96 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: Right, Hey, thank you very much for your time. We 97 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: appreciate it and obviously are thinking of everyone who's been 98 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: affected by this incredible weather event. We're going to keep 99 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 1: you up to date with the very latest. We'll be 100 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: taking you to several defense after five o'clock as well 101 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: as that and talking to some of those who've been 102 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: worse affected in the area. For more from Heather du 103 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: and Drive, listen live to News Talks a B from 104 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.