“I called them and told them the townships of Warkworth, Puhoi, Wellsford and Kumeu needed immediate emergency assistance. Rural areas were also flooding and had roadside slips blocking roads.

FEBRUARY 4, 2023

“I didn’t receive any of this information from AEM – I was getting notified through phone calls, texts and community Facebook pages.”

Meanwhile, recently elected Rodney Local Board member Ivan Wagstaff was unsure what he could or should be doing officially, but knew something needed to happen, so went into Warkworth from his Matakana continued page 2

“Now

Advertising: Ken Lawson ph 022 029 1899 advertising@localmatters.co.nz Marc Milford ph 022 029 1897 local@localmatters.co.nz

Digital: Richie Lovelock digital@localmatters.co.nz

Accounts: Angela Thomas ph 425 9068 admin@localmatters.co.nz

Graphic designer: Heather Arnold design@localmatters.co.nz from page 1 home and, with Neighbourhood Support Rodney coordinator Sue Robinson, got the town hall opened to take in the stranded.

He is now calling for information on community resilience and response information to be part of the Rodney Local Board plan process, so Board members and staff know how well communities are equipped to deal with emergencies.

Both he and Sayers are supporting Wayne Brown’s call for an independent review of Council failings during the emergency event.

“The Council emergency response failed to get the communications needed to the people who needed them. Entire communities and their families felt totally isolated, not just for hours but for days, without any way of being told what was going on,” Sayers said.

“It was only through the rallying of neighbours, volunteers and local contractors living in different areas that people got the help they desperately needed.

“The community has selflessly rallied together and they’ve been remarkable. But there is also a lot of anger towards the Auckland Council.”

He said that the storm had compounded and highlighted ongoing problems with rural roads that have been neglected and not properly maintained.

“Many of the rural road slips could have been prevented if the culverts and drains had been properly maintained,” he said. “Even prior to the storm, people were furious that Auckland Transport took so long to respond to road maintenance requests.”

Sayers said the Mayor was aware of the problems, especially since visiting Rodney to see storm damage for himself on January 31 (see story this page). He has since written to Council chief executive Jim Stabback and Wayne Brown, pointing out that the storms have highlighted failures in local road and drainage maintenance, and again calling for better budget provision for Rodney’s unsealed road network.

Sayers also wants to see the appointment of an independent clerk of works responsible for scrutinising and signing off on contractors’ maintenance work before they are paid.