When extreme weather hits, it's great to know you have a capable team on your side to help get through it and in the recovery afterwards.
Teams across Ventia have been leading recovery efforts alongside our clients and subcontractors throughout New Zealand after severe weather events devastated the North Island of Aotearoa.
Despite the massive scale of destruction, our teams have tirelessly worked keeping our communities safe and helping them get back to normal. We have undertaken extensive restoration efforts for the road network, covering multiple areas, including Far North, Kaipara, Whangarei, West Auckland, and Thames Coromandel.
Our transport teams have cleared over 200 slips in West Auckland and more than 255 in Thames, which is a remarkable feat given the magnitude of the devastation.
Our collaboration with Auckland Transport and other agencies during the storm clean-up was crucial.
GM Transport NZ Vic Hensley explained, "Looking ahead, we remain committed to working together to prepare for future weather events and ensure the safety of our community.'
Our transport teams have cleared over 200 slips in West Auckland and more than 255 in Thames.
Ventia teams actively involved in emergency response and recovery
Ventia's Auckland Council teams have been actively involved in repairing council buildings and assets, ensuring site safety, pumping out water from affected areas, testing HVAC systems, and cleaning up the streetscape to enable safe pedestrian passage. The Palmerston North centralAlliance mid central team showcased their rapid response and preparedness for emergency situations by delivering a 110kva generator to ensure uninterrupted power supply to Te Whata Ora Napier Health Centre, from the Palmerston North Hospital during Napier's severe isolation.
In addition to the above, our Electricity & Gas, and Telco teams have played an instrumental role in restoring power and communication lines in the affected areas of Northland, Auckland, and Hawke's Bay, with diesel generators deployed to power essential cell towers and wireless sites. Our water teams have also been consistently testing water and sewage levels to ensure safety above all else after the flow-on storm effects.
Ventia teams from all sectors were actively involved in the emergency response and recovery work.
Restoring power at Reclyffe
Ventia were tasked with the restoration lead at Redclyffe substation for Transpower, initially working to make primary modifications and commission the temporary bypass of the damaged Redclyffe substation in Napier, restoring power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the area.
The subsequent restoration works at Redclyffe will require the team being onsite until Mid July 2023.
"I would like to express our appreciation, on behalf of the wider Transpower, for the work Ventia telecommunications team have been doing in assisting us in Hawkes Bay', said Cobus Nel, GM IST Transpower NZ.
Under difficult circumstances the team have replanned their lives around assisting us.
Our teams have worked tirelessly, keeping our communities safe and helping them get back to normal.
Maintaining critical infrastructure during extreme events
As we transition from emergency response to the recovery phase, Ventia's role in maintaining critical infrastructure is more important than ever, particularly during extreme events like the February storms and subsequent flooding.
Damian Pedreschi, EGM New Zealand, expressed his belief that our responsiveness to clients and communities during these trying times will serve as an example of where our strategy to redefine service excellence will shine.
'Ventia's role in maintaining critical infrastructure during such extreme events, and then helping restore impacted assets afterwards, has been widely recognised and appreciated," says Damian.