Mass clean-up job for Hamilton city following cyclone Dovi

Monday, 14 February 2022

Hamilton City Council have been swamped with tree call outs since Cyclone Dovi hit Hamilton City.

Hamilton city is in major clean-up mode after Cyclone Dovi swooped in on Sunday.

So far council has received over 700 calls from the public, 150 service requests on their website and 120 emails.

On the ground assessing the breadth of the damage was unit director for parks and recreation, Maria Barrie.

Barrie said that in her 26 years working with the council, this was the worst she had ever seen, and they were having to prioritise the most urgent incidents first.

Hamilton City Council Unit Director, parks and recreation, Maria Barrie.

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Hamilton City Council staff tend to a mass of debris at the Ruakiwi road entrance to Hamilton Lake Domain.

“Yesterday’s priority was about clearing our transport network and keeping the city moving and keeping people safe.

“We put extra aborists and contractors on when the winds started to impact, and we divided the city in half and had staff triaging calls.

“So that basically means running around the city and getting eyes on the jobs and prioritising those urgent ones” Barrie said.

The mass of destroyed wood was being placed in collection spots across the city where members of the public could come and help themselves, while leftover vegetation was being turned into mulch.

Barrie expected the areas most affected by the storm and the financial costs to be known later in the week.

Hamilton City Council has been swamped with tree call-outs since Cyclone Dovi hit.

Hamilton Girls’ High school has also shut its doors for the next 3 days due to “significant damage” to two of the school buildings.

In a statement to Stuff, Principal Marie Gordon said they are currently conducting health and safety and risk assessments alongside MOE.

She said while the damage was being assessed student learning would be conducted online.

“Similar to the rest of the country, we experienced the impact of Cyclone Dovi today. Due to extreme high winds, two trees fell on two separate buildings causing significant damage to the Malins Building and minor damage to G Block” said Gordon.

The school was focused on bringing in new teaching spaces that would replace the damaged classrooms.

Insurance companies have also been inundated with calls regarding damage to customers’ homes and motor vehicles.

Auckland, Taranaki and Wellington were particular hotspots for assistance following the storm.

IAG Executive General Manager for Claims, Wayne Tippet said the cyclone was a reminder for people to double-check the details of their own insurance policies.

“We are currently taking a large number of calls, and are expecting the number of claims to reach approximately 1,000 in the coming days.

“As of 9am Monday] we had received a total of 272 claims across our brands.

“We know all too well that getting though a major weather event or natural disaster can be hugely distressing for families, businesses and communities. The last thing anyone needs in this situation is to discover their insurance cover is out of date, or out of step with their expectations”.

Tippet said customers should contact their insurance company broker in the first instance with any issues.

Hamilton city council would continue to alert the public on any further information over the coming days.

“We’re encouraging people to please take care when visiting parks and open spaces during the next few days. If you see any damaged or fallen trees and branches, please log them through the Antenno app or phone us on 07 838 6699”.