Auckland Council says many of its non-essential facilities that were closed to support Auckland Emergency Management’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle, will begin reopening within the next two days.
The council’s early childhood centres will reopen from 9am, Wednesday 15 February, while some libraries, customer service centres, and pools and leisure centres will open from midday, Thursday 16 February.
Auckland Council Chief Executive, Jim Stabback says the organisation’s focus continues to be on helping the most vulnerable communities who have been impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
“This has been a tough few days for many Aucklanders, compounded with the impacts of January’s flooding, and I want to extend my sympathies to anyone who has been affected,” Mr Stabback said.
“At Auckland Council we are doing all we can to support affected communities, and many of our staff from our libraries, early childhood, leisure and contact centres have been deployed over the last couple of days to where they have been needed most.
“Starting tomorrow our redeployed staff members will be able to resume their usual jobs, and our early childhood centres will reopen tomorrow morning to help ease the burden for parents and caregivers who may be trying to juggle the demands of their work with looking after their whānau.”
He said some Council facilities were still being used as Civil Defence Centres and Shelters.
Auckland Council’s regional park tracks are closed, to allow staff time to assess the damage of these tracks from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Mr Stabback said Council building inspectors, stormwater staff, arborists, and coastal team, have been on the ground helping affected communities from the damage of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Our coastal team has been completing rapid assessments of coastal damage today, and our stormwater staff have been prioritising the clearance of streams to prevent further flooding. Arborists are working throughout the region to respond to hundreds of tree-related callouts, the large majority of which are deemed as critical. Already this year we have had 1400 tree requests for service due to weather events,” he said.
“Our building inspections teams are on the ground assessing the impacts of the cyclone on buildings and land, including at some at-risk homes that were red and yellow placarded during the January flooding.
“More will be known about the scale of damage on homes and the need for new rapid assessments as our staff are able to gain access to the affected areas.”
If you need help and support during the emergency, please head to the Auckland Emergency Management website.
