Emergency Response - Roading

The Times-Age sought additional information on roading to include in the emergency response article planned for tomorrow, in light of the closure last night of the Remutaka Hill road. The following information was provided:

Hood Aerodrome improvements will enhance its capacity as an asset in an emergency response.

The reality is that when the Remutaka Hill is closed, roading access will be via the north of Wairarapa.

In terms of roading, the Wairarapa Engineering Lifelines Association (WELA) is a regional Lifeline Utility group, one of a national network of such groups which have an objective of reducing infrastructure (including roading) outage risks and minimising restoration time when outages occur.

Lifeline groups enable collaboration across sectors and with leaders, scientists, and emergency managers.

The Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act requires individual Lifeline Utilities to establish planning and operational relationships with local CDEM Groups.