Mayor Wayne Brown says he “dropped the ball” during Auckland’s flooding on Friday, and has announced the state of emergency in the city is being extended.
Brown had previously drawn criticism when he declared a state of emergency last Friday hours after widespread flooding had already caused chaos in the city.
At least one person had died before Brown signed the state of emergency declaration at 9.27pm, which wasn’t communicated to the public till 10.18pm.
“I dropped the ball on Friday, I was too slow to be seen. The communications weren’t fast enough, including mine. I am sorry.
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“The priority now, ahead of the Waitangi long weekend, is to ensure that Aucklanders are safe, well-informed and well-supported.”
Brown also said the community response had been “magnificent”.
“One sign of the fantastic co-operation is that the emergency powers, which I approved on Friday night immediately when advised, have barely needed to be used.”
The Mayor said he was advised at 9am on Friday by Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM), which includes Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) and the National Emergency Management Agency, to extend the state of local emergency.
Iain McGregor/Stuff
Flood water still lying on Brewster Ave in Morningside.
Brown signed the declaration at 11.30 am, and the state of emergency will run for another seven days, to Friday February 10.
States of emergency usually expire after seven days, however they can also be extended if the authorised person considers where the emergency still exists, or the nature of the emergency is moving towards recovery where they may want to consider giving notice of a local transition period.
In some cases, states of emergency can be terminated before the expiry date, such as in Northland and Waitomo this week.
“I hope it continues to be mostly unnecessary for these powers to be used, and urge Aucklanders to continue assisting the emergency services by complying with their instructions voluntarily,” Brown said.
“The need for the emergency powers will be continuously reviewed.”
