June 27, 2024
East Coast storm threatens road lifeline
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Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel is welcoming the visit to her storm-wracked region by Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell.
Tairawhiti and Hawke’s Bay have been hit by torrential rains, closing roads and flooding parts of Wairoa township.
Ms Tangaere-Manuel says even though many people in the area still haven’t recovered frm last year’s Cyclone Gabrielle, she hasn’t heard any whining.
She says it’s a chance for the minister to get his priorities right.
“The most important thing here is the people and I’m glad the minister is coming on the ground so he can see this reality and hopefully reporioritise the money into the infrastructure here on the East Coast. These may not be considered roads of national significance but they are lifelines for our communtieis and where the the value of people,” Ms Tangaere- Manuel says.
Tairawhiti communities were prepared for the storm and established their own emergency response sites.