Seasons Greetings from
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Tuesday 20 December 2011
SPCA hoping for quiet Christmas Page 5
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Volleyball hits the beach... sort of Page 18
Rainfall most intense in NZ history
Future of Rocks Rd homes and highway remain uncertain as ground movement continues Andrew Board and Phillip Rollo A fresh state of emergency was put in place for the Nelson region this morning as last week’s rain was confirmed as the most intense in any urban area of New Zealand, ever. Two days of constant rain last Wednesday and Thursday caused more than 300 slips in the region, forcing hundreds from their
homes and leaving a clean-up bill now estimated to be in the tens of millions. Ratepayers will have to foot some of the bill it was announced at a media conference in Richmond yesterday; how much was not said. Nelson MP Nick Smith says central government will come to the party with some of the costs, with prime minister John Key saying on RadioLive yesterday that it
would not be fair to make Nelson and Tasman pay for the entire clean up, just because the EQC piggy bank is low due to the Christchurch earthquakes. More than 100 homes have been given a red sticker, meaning they are unable to be occupied until they are cleared by officials. But Nelson mayor Aldo Miccio says he wants to get as many people back in their homes by Christmas as possible – even if
just to collect some possessions – and already 15 homes were downgraded to a yellow sticker yesterday. “It’s an ambitious goal but we aim to get everybody back in their homes, which can be back in their homes, before Christmas. It’s never a good time, but it does make it a lot more frustrating at Christmas,” he says.
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Retailers hope for Christmas cheer The big shop is on, although retailers are hoping for a busy week after last week’s floods slowed the Christmas rush. Uniquely Nelson manager Cathy Madigan says she is expecting a bumper week after last week’s rain put a “real dent” in shopping figures. Likewise, Nita Knight of the Nelson Market says she is expecting a huge market this Saturday, Christmas Eve. “Last week was a good market under the circumstances but this week will be very busy.” Paymark eftpos figures show spending in Nelson was up 4.5 per cent for the first two weeks of December, with $39.5 million passing through the system. Cathy says last week’s downturn was due to the rain and with a fine weather forecast she is expecting to see the city humming this week. “I think we’ll be seeing a lot of people who put their shopping off last week because of the storm. Whatever we lost last week we will make up for this week.” Fashion Island manager Susan Matz says retailers in the complex have been busy since the start of December.
Nelson woman Amy Weber walks through the Nelson market on Saturday morning. Retailers say they are hoping for a big rush this week after last week’s rain put a dent in the Christmas buying rush. Photo: Andrew Board.
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