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Speaker 1: Otago is on standby for potentially unprecedented rainfall across the region,

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Speaker 1: with a red heavy rain warning and up to one

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Speaker 1: hundred and fifty millimeters of rain expected to fall. Dunedin

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Speaker 1: Civil Defense Bunker has been activated in the Met Service

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Speaker 1: says there are possible quote threats to life. Matt Ali

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Speaker 1: is Otago Civil Defense Group Controller and is with us

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Speaker 1: siveniod evening. Sure, Jack, what's the latest.

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Speaker 2: Look. We're continuing to monitor rain as it's falling. We

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Speaker 2: have our Emergency Operations Center in Donedan City includes their

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Speaker 2: INNE Coordination Center in Dunedinan as well, fully activated monitoring

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Speaker 2: the rain as it falls.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, some pretty out there language in the Met Service

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Speaker 1: warnings that they're saying that potentially the extreme rainfall could

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Speaker 1: cause quote a threat to life from dangerous river conditions

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Speaker 1: and significant flooding and slips. Just how present is that

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Speaker 1: threat to life do you think?

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Speaker 2: Look, we're asking memes of the community to stay away

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Speaker 2: from low lying flood prini areas, stay out of flood

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Speaker 2: floodwaters and don't drive through any floodwater. So if they

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Speaker 2: see rising waters as well, we encourage them to be

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Speaker 2: ready to south evacuate don't wait to be told. If

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Speaker 2: you see it, make a decision and.

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Speaker 1: Go what's your biggest concern at the stage.

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Speaker 2: Mat Look, we're monitoring the waters at silver Stream. We

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Speaker 2: expect the spill way to overtop during the night. We

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Speaker 2: think that's largely can go on to farmland, so we're

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Speaker 2: going to monitor that through the night. Also, areas south

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Speaker 2: the need and experiencing some ponding as the stormwater network

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Speaker 2: sort of deals with what's coming down this stage, mostly

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Speaker 2: those areas around the sort of Mouscule Tirie area and

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Speaker 2: then through south to Eden.

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Speaker 1: What's the likelihood you'll need to issue evacuation orders?

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Speaker 2: Look, I would say unlikely at this stage. But as

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Speaker 2: I said, we've got teams that'll be working through the

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Speaker 2: night and we'll be proactive in that space.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, at what point do you think you'll be through

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Speaker 1: the worst of it.

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Speaker 2: We're expecting two peaks, so one of around midnight tonight,

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Speaker 2: and a second peak is the weather it's probably mid

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Speaker 2: afternoon tomorrow, right.

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Speaker 1: Have these regions ever experienced rainfall like that which is

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Speaker 1: forecast at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we have. We had an event in twenty fifteen

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Speaker 2: and another one in twenty seventeen that it was sort

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Speaker 2: of comparative, So this isn't unknown and the communities have

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Speaker 2: dealt with things like this before.

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Speaker 1: Okay, do you feel sufficiently organized for the rainfall at

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Speaker 1: the stage.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, we've been really well supported by the Ottaga

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Speaker 2: Regional Council, other local councils in Dunedan City, Waitaki and KLUP,

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Speaker 2: and we've got some really good support from our emergency

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Speaker 2: service partners, Police, Foreign Emergency Saint John as well as

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Speaker 2: MPI and INDMSD with us.

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Speaker 1: Finally, then Matt, give us that message once again for

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Speaker 1: anyone in these affected areas, what do you want them

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Speaker 1: to do?

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Speaker 2: Look, just stay off the roads. Please put off any

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Speaker 2: non essential travel. Again. If you see water coming up,

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Speaker 2: if you feel like you've been thriven by that, don't

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Speaker 2: wait to be told, make the decision and go.

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Speaker 1: Thanks Matt. That's Matt Ali from Otago Civil Defense. We're

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Speaker 1: going to keep you up to date with the very

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Speaker 1: latest just as soon as any updates come through for

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Speaker 1: met Service or Civil Defense over the coming hours. Right now,

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Speaker 1: it's ten past five. Team for more from Hither Duplessy

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Speaker 1: Allen Drive listen live to news talks. It'd be from

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