Fire and Emergency prepares for incoming severe weather

3 Haratua 2023

Fire and Emergency New Zealand is closely monitoring the weather warnings across the country to inform where it sends additional resources - if they are needed.

This comes after weather forecasts informed Fire and Emergency of the potential for severe weather to hit New Zealand this week, with the predicted heaviest impacts forecast for Northland, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Marlborough and the West Coast.

Deputy National Commander Brendan Nally says Fire and Emergency is being proactive in making early preparations. Decisions on deployments have been made today, based on updated forecasts.

"Northland is already seeing some impacts of heavy rain, so we have sent resources, including some of our USAR capability to Kaikohe in Northland," he says.

Brendan Nally says further deployments will be considered for other locations as Fire and Emergency receives more certainty on the weather modelling and conditions on the ground.

"Although there is still some uncertainty about exactly where the rain will hit, we are ready to respond where we are needed. We have extra resourcing ready to be deployed at short notice.

"Our focus is on supporting our communities, some of which have already been affected by previous events this year, most notably Cyclone Gabrielle," he says.

Fire and Emergency will continue to update the community on how it is responding in the coming days. For the latest weather warnings follow MetService, and follow NZ Civil Defence and your local Civil Defence page for emergency warnings and advice.