Residents from communities in the Kaweka and Tūtira rural wards now have better access to fuel with the first of several storage tanks delivered to Hastings district this week.
The delivery is part of a joint initiative between Hastings District Council, Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), supported by Christchurch company Fuelchief Ltd.
This week, Patoka received a 20,000 litre tank to house diesel needed to operate the generator that’s supplying power to the community. Further tanks will also be delivered to the area to house petrol and diesel.
Hastings Mayor, Sandra Hazlehurst said tanks will continue to be delivered to hubs across the two wards over the coming week, and will be in place until road access is restored.
“Fuel is one of the most important resources our communities need at the moment. Having a regular fuel supply will do wonders to help build community resilience at this time of uncertainty,” said Mayor Hazlehurst.
“It’s one less thing they will need to worry about as they deal with the aftermath of this devastating event, and I want to thank all those involved in making it happen.”
Fuelchief Ltd managing director, Joe Deck said it was a privilege to be supplying the units to support the response efforts in these communities.
“Logistically it has been a real challenge to supply something of this scale. It would normally take us weeks but our production staff, freight partners Fenco Limited and Mansfield Installations have dropped everything to make it happen.
“It was a humbling experience to see the devastation these communities are living with so we are pleased that we are able to help.”
