Auckland Weather 27/01/23 and Cyclone Gabrielle

Forums › Off topic › Auckland Weather 27/01/23 and Cyclone Gabrielle

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#3038424 18-Feb-2023 09:13

Email from Vodafone today about keeping everyone connected.

Kia ora

Key Points:

128 mobile cellsites restored
Free data applied to mobile accounts
Replacement phones and modems available
Since I last wrote to you, Vodafone teams across the country have been working non-stop to get our sites back up and running following the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. I wanted to give you a quick update on how we’re doing, and what we can do to help you get connected.

Network Update

As of Friday morning, we have 57 cell sites that remain down, from a peak of around 185 on Tuesday, either due to power or fibre outages. We’ve successfully restored coverage to large parts of Northland, Coromandel, Napier, and Gisborne – although there are areas still to be connected. We continue to do everything possible to get these sites back up and running where safe to do so, including deploying over 70 generators and even arranging cargo planes and helicopters to aid in the fixes required. For the latest on outages, please check our network status page which is regularly updated.

Keeping you connected

If you or your business have been affected, we want to ensure we provide you with what you need to get back up and running again.

For those of you in an impacted area during Cyclone Gabrielle with a prepay plan, we’ve automatically loaded 100GB of free data onto your account which is available to use now, for 7 days*. For customers with an ‘on account’ plan, we’ve removed any data caps and speed restrictions (where the network allows) on your account to give you free unlimited data for 7 days*. This also allows you to connect another device like your tablet or laptop through you mobile (called ‘hot spotting’). And the best part, you don’t need to do anything to activate it.

Our call centres and website are up and running, prioritising calls regarding faults, so please do contact us if you need us. Our teams will help you however they can, whether you need minutes, texts, or data.

Emergency mobile devices or wireless modem connectivity

We have made extra stock available in store for people impacted that we will prioritise for you.

If your mobile device has been impacted, we can provide you with an emergency Vodafone Smart E10 phone.

If you need wider connectivity, we have emergency Wireless Broadband X58 modems available for you to access. In the first instance we’d encourage you to use your personal device as a hotspot and take advantage of the free 7 days of data we have provided. Please call us on 777 and we can arrange an emergency mobile or wireless modem to be collected at your nearest store. Please check the store locator page on our website to find out if your local store is currently open (most of them are) and check opening hours before visiting.

Thanks for all your emails of support following my previous update. We know how vital connectivity is for you and whānau, and we’re doing everything we can to get you reconnected. I’ve been sharing your messages with the teams on the ground as we go, and they won’t stop until we have everything back up and running. Our hearts go out to the people impacted by this event.

As always – if I can help in any way, please just drop me an email to Jason.paris@vodafone.nz

Jason Paris
Jason Paris
CEO

P.S It’s important to note - we will prioritise 111 calls across our mobile network. We also have arrangements with the other telecommunication companies to enable 111 calls from each other's customers to connect if we have coverage in an area and they do not (and vice versa). This is because the three companies are progressively reconnecting different areas, which results in some coverage gaps until the whole network is fully restored.

tdgeek

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#3038428 18-Feb-2023 09:37

Dingbatt:

we obviously haven’t learnt much from history.

Perhaps. It comes down to the mitigation cost and how often these events happen. All of us are exposed to another pandemic, we could build many many MIQ hotels that will stay empty, we could EQ reinforce every house in NZ, we could build massive concrete stop banks all round NZ, we could have more hospitals than we will ever need in case of a pandemic, the list is endless. AKL is on a volcanic field, we could move AKL. All we can really do is mitigate what we can, we cannot avoid everything.

Re the HB flooding, best we can do is either move towns or construct diversion waterways. The latter is good idea, but what about other flood prone areas across NZ? If that storm re occurred but in a different location, we have the same issue elsewhere.

tweake

2391 posts

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#3038433 18-Feb-2023 09:57

tdgeek:

Dingbatt:

we obviously haven’t learnt much from history.

Perhaps. It comes down to the mitigation cost and how often these events happen. All of us are exposed to another pandemic, we could build many many MIQ hotels that will stay empty, we could EQ reinforce every house in NZ, we could build massive concrete stop banks all round NZ, we could have more hospitals than we will ever need in case of a pandemic, the list is endless. AKL is on a volcanic field, we could move AKL. All we can really do is mitigate what we can, we cannot avoid everything.

Re the HB flooding, best we can do is either move towns or construct diversion waterways. The latter is good idea, but what about other flood prone areas across NZ? If that storm re occurred but in a different location, we have the same issue elsewhere.

where do you move to? valleys tend to have flooding, hill sides slip, ridgelines high winds.

really need to find why it was so bad and mitigate that risk. especially those who had flash floods.

for eg i've been watching California which is having major flooding. however have a look at their water control systems, its huge and complex. they have large cities protected by stop banks and a lot of the farm land is used for water diversion (ie flood the farm land instead of the city). we have small scale version of that just north of whangerai.

tdgeek

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#3038480 18-Feb-2023 10:06

tweake:

where do you move to? valleys tend to have flooding, hill sides slip, ridgelines high winds.

really need to find why it was so bad and mitigate that risk. especially those who had flash floods.

for eg i've been watching California which is having major flooding. however have a look at their water control systems, its huge and complex. they have large cities protected by stop banks and a lot of the farm land is used for water diversion (ie flood the farm land instead of the city). we have small scale version of that just north of whangerai.

Exactly. Everywhere in NZ is exposed to something.

It was so bad as there was a lot of rain and a lot of wind... We caused that by not attending to climate change, and we still aren't, we just tickle the edges.

Yes, the LA type of waterways, the new Orleans levees. Why would NZ do that as it costs money and it hardly ever happens. It hardly ever happens in LA and New Orleans too. But it can and it does. NZ is slow off the mark as usual. Esk Valley needs to be attended to now.

mkissin

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#3038483 18-Feb-2023 10:18

tdgeek:

Perhaps. It comes down to the mitigation cost and how often these events happen. All of us are exposed to another pandemic, we could build many many MIQ hotels that will stay empty, we could EQ reinforce every house in NZ, we could build massive concrete stop banks all round NZ, we could have more hospitals than we will ever need in case of a pandemic, the list is endless. AKL is on a volcanic field, we could move AKL. All we can really do is mitigate what we can, we cannot avoid everything.

Re the HB flooding, best we can do is either move towns or construct diversion waterways. The latter is good idea, but what about other flood prone areas across NZ? If that storm re occurred but in a different location, we have the same issue elsewhere.

There's an easier midpoint though.

We have plenty of hotels, and they can be repurposed during a pandemic, perhaps just plan for how to do that effectively.

We already have floodplains here, all over the place. But we built on them, maybe stop that and increase density instead.

We have plenty of hospitals, but through general neglect of the population they run at nearly 100% as standard. Focus on population health which will pay dividends anyway (note the recent discourse that for every $5 prescription fee collected, the government actually pays around $18 in poor health outcomes due to people who can't afford that).

Stuff costs money though, and we (as a collective whole) keep voting people in on platforms of basically austerity and tax cuts. In fact, neither of the major parties is particularly different on that front now.

We know the solutions, none of this is actually hard. We just won't do any of them.

rb99

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#3038485 18-Feb-2023 10:30

Pretty much a global phenomenon unfortunately. We need to fix this, we need to focus on that, oh yes you're so right, why didn't we do this already...what - you want me to pay extra for it, what -it might make things a little less inconvenient for me, what - you actually expect me to make a little sacrifice, oh no, can't have that.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

tweake

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#3038495 18-Feb-2023 10:47

rb99:

Pretty much a global phenomenon unfortunately. We need to fix this, we need to focus on that, oh yes you're so right, why didn't we do this already...what - you want me to pay extra for it, what -it might make things a little less inconvenient for me, what - you actually expect me to make a little sacrifice, oh no, can't have that.

+1 but what makes it worse here is our culture of making money from housing. no one wants to pay extra for anything so they can maximise the profit.

realistically most likely what will happen is houses in bad locations will be expensive to insure, become less desirable, so only poor people will live there.

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Dingbatt

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#3038555 18-Feb-2023 12:10

tdgeek:

It was so bad as there was a lot of rain and a lot of wind... We caused that by not attending to climate change, and we still aren't, we just tickle the edges.

Can you clarify;

Who are “we”?

Humanity or are you specifically referring to Aotearoa?

What does “attending to climate change” mean?

Do you mean reducing NZ’s 0.17% of global emissions? Or do you mean put all our resources into trying to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change?

Yes, I’m sure we’re entirely to blame*. The warming of the Arafura and Coral Seas and the blocking high over the Chatham Islands caused by the strong La Niña had nothing to do with it. Neither did the upper level trough. Or as one observer noted, last year’s eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, which threw an estimated 9.5 cubic kilometres of material into the atmosphere.

* Not without blame though.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

johno1234

2808 posts

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#3038558 18-Feb-2023 12:20

Back in October this guy predicted a summer of floods in east coast Australia, partly due to the effect of the Tongan underwater volcano eruption:

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/how-a-tongan-volcanic-eruption-almost-guarantees-a-flooded-summer-for-australias-east-coast/news-story/3b1be3a36b5681ce70d7327392ed0129

ezbee

2406 posts

Uber Geek

#3038568 18-Feb-2023 12:31

I think some of these discussions miss the multiplying factor of slash in these events.

Gouging out the landscape, bringing down ever more large other bits of tree and whole trees.
Forming dams that pressure stockbanks already gouged from inside, while downstream when it breaks the flood comes in sudden torrents of ever more corrosive debris.

Bridges, and any kind of structure that can withstand a waterflow, is just battered to destruction, houses likewise.
Power and communication infrastructure and roads not just covered in water but gouged out of the landscape.

Its how a Sunami can become more destructive as it spreads inland gathering more debris.

Even the deep covering a silt, up to car roof in some places.
How much of that silt is there because the corrosive torrent of slash gouged it out of river bed and banks ?

tdgeek

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#3038572 18-Feb-2023 12:44

Dingbatt:

tdgeek:

It was so bad as there was a lot of rain and a lot of wind... We caused that by not attending to climate change, and we still aren't, we just tickle the edges.

Can you clarify;

Who are “we”?

Humanity or are you specifically referring to Aotearoa?

What does “attending to climate change” mean?

Do you mean reducing NZ’s 0.17% of global emissions? Or do you mean put all our resources into trying to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change?

Yes, I’m sure we’re entirely to blame*. The warming of the Arafura and Coral Seas and the blocking high over the Chatham Islands caused by the strong La Niña had nothing to do with it. Neither did the upper level trough. Or as one observer noted, last year’s eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, which threw an estimated 9.5 cubic kilometres of material into the atmosphere.

* Not without blame though.

Humanity is to blame, as in we

Attending to climate change means doing what was needed to reduce emissions, a LOT earlier. Too late now

Yes, they are always many variables with weather, and you noted a few. All natural, but exacerbated by increasing air temperature, which a great deal is absorbed into the seas. For NZ, warmer air and warmer seas will traverse to lower latitudes, so we will see more tropical based weather

neb

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#3038581 18-Feb-2023 13:27

Dingbatt:
JarrodM: ………I would not be surprised if this is the deadliest natural disaster in our history.

I really hope you are wrong. A quick search of “NZ Natural Disasters” provided the following stats (abridged);

It depends whether the OP meant "deadliest" literally or figuratively, "caused the most damage". For some of the historic natural disasters the population density in the affected areas was relatively low and the amount of infrastructure present for (say) Tarawera to destroy was pretty minimal, a lot of it could be replaced by unskilled labour sawing up a few more native trees and nailing them together (simplified somewhat). Now we've got high population densities and massive amounts of infrastructure that needs lots of skilled labour and specialised materials to replace.

JarrodM

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#3038589 18-Feb-2023 14:09

Dingbatt:
JarrodM: ………I would not be surprised if this is the deadliest natural disaster in our history.

I really hope you are wrong. A quick search of “NZ Natural Disasters” provided the following stats (abridged);

Hope I’m wrong too, but it’s quite grim when you see 11 inflatable rescue boats in unison up the coast past your house, and that’s even before thinking about what could be in the forestry slash that’s all over the coastline. It won’t reach the numbers of the pandemics (I wasn’t taking those into account when making my comment), but from talking to people with friends in search and rescue plus healthcare it doesn’t sound good at all.

Dingbatt

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#3038593 18-Feb-2023 14:27

Phew!

Finally got news of friends on the south side of the Esk River Valley. They are on slightly higher ground so avoided the worst of it. They now have a petrol generator going for some power, which is just as well because they have been told it will be at least a month before they are connected to the grid again.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

gzt

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#3038602 18-Feb-2023 15:32

tdgeek: Attending to climate change means doing what was needed to reduce emissions, a LOT earlier. Too late now

I do not wish to turn this topic into a climate change discussion at this point but I will respond to this one.

It is not too late.

New Zealand has benefited from industrialization and alliances with first world economies. We have enormous wealth and technical capability as a result of all that.

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