A message from the Mayor
Kia ora koutou,
Well, it has certainly been a big week for our hearty little district and I hope you’re all starting to see the light at the end of the Cyclone Gabrielle tunnel.
While we were not hit as hard as other parts of New Zealand, we are certainly thinking of our friends in Northland, Coromandel and especially in Hawke’s Bay who are doing it really tough right now.
Here in Taupō, our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) monitored the cyclone’s progress on Monday and was activated in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Many council staff put their usual work aside to head into the centre and help out.
Throughout the week, the team in the EOC has gathered information on welfare issues, worked with power companies to get electricity restored, organised a response and recovery, and worked hard to keep the community informed at every opportunity. They deserve a massive shout out.
The other group of people that deserves a shout out is you, the Taupō District community. It is times like these that we all need to pull together and have each other’s back, and I could not be more proud of the way the people of this district did that. It was a very stressful time, particularly for those at the southern end of the lake who were without power for long periods, and we are so grateful for your patience and compassion.
Moving forward, the clean-up continues in some areas so please keep an eye out on the roads as we continue to get those cleared. Our parks and reserves team is doing some serious mahi assessing trees for damage and ensuring safety throughout the district. The advice from them is that everybody uses their judgement and takes a good look around before using these spaces. Avoid going under or parking near trees, and stay out in the open.
Thank you again for your patience as we worked through a rollercoaster of a week.
Ngā mihi,
Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas.
More information on Cyclone Gabrielle:
