Bay of Plenty District Health Board emergency operation s controller Brent Gilbert-De Rios said they did not have to evacuate patients from Whakatāne Hospital as they were outside the flood zone. However, the hospital’s Tsunami Plan was implemented and patients and staff in the hospital were relocated to the first floor of the Dawson Block on the hospital campus. In Northland, resident Rosie Stone, who has lived in the Helena Bay area for 30 years, said she had never had a warning “quite as dramatic as this”. She got the civil defence warning on her phone and just grabbed her dog and phone and drove to higher ground.
Residents in high risk areas were allowed to head home about 1.15pm, but the advice remains for all areas under beach and marine threat to stay off beach and shore areas.
A closed school is a headache for parents, children and teachers, yet planning appears to be scarce for up to 94 schools that could be affected by flooding as the tides rise. New Niwa models show Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and Waikato schools are the most likely to be hit by coastal flooding caused by up to 1 metre of sea level rise. Schools that could be in the flood risk zone after less than 50 centimetres of sea level rise include Napier Boys High, Kaiapoi High School and Opotiki College (see below for a full list). The rising tides could create flooding around school buildings and roads, affecting children s ability to get to and from classrooms. Seawater in pipes could cause toilets and sinks to back up, according to Niwa research. Despite this, the Ministry of Education had minimal adaptation plans in place.
Rotorua students achieve scholarship success
14 Feb, 2021 11:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Western Heights High School students Ashton McGarvie and Zach Jans achieved scholarship last year.
Despite a tough and unprecedented year in 2020, Rotorua students continued to excel in their academic ventures. More than 10,400 students entered New Zealand Scholarship examinations last year, and of those who sat them, 2148 students were awarded one or more scholarships across the 36 subjects.
New Zealand Scholarship assesses students on their ability to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation.
John Paul College topped the list of Bay of Plenty recipients with students achieving 15 Scholarships and three Outstanding Scholarships.