North Island Floods in 2004!
08:36:26 PM - 2007-06-25
MANAWATU NORTH ISLAND N.Z. 2004 FLOODS!
Now over 3 years later in the Moutoa Basin south of Foxton where the basin's stopbanks where breached, it is all back to normal after the devastating Manawatu floods in February 2004 when roads and bridges were washed away.
At the time of the floods 4000 cows had to walk or swim around 20 km's to higher ground, fewer than a dozen cows were lost, thanks to neighbouring farmers they where milked and from there where trucked to 20 farms around the North Island for grazing.
( New Zealand farmers away's support their neigbours in times of stress).
Those poor farmers the water had risen almost to the eaves of there homes, but with kiwi intuition rather than struggle away on their own, the five farms formed a company and farmed together for a year while they got their individual farms back to order. (Team Work) After the stop bank was repaired, the hard physical work began, they had to pump the water out with a tractor, and punp until the power was restored and the internal drainage system kicked in. It was six weeks before the water had completely disappeared, 1600 hectare's to be cleaned up and regrassed.
Twelve months later the farmers were back in there homes, they where lucky to have Landcorp behind them. Landcorp had the capital to invest in rebuilding the houses and re-establishing the Moutoa farming blocks.
Now three years later, production is back on track, so it does take time, but they never gave up, as there is alway's a light at the end of every tunnel.
The summer of 2004 will be remembered by most of the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand for the extreme weather - heavy rain and gale-force winds, that caused one of thr worst flooding disasters of the last 20 years.
More than 2000 people were evacuated at the height of the flooding. Remarkably no lives were lost.
Lucky we lived in the Ranges at Okoki, Urenui, Taranaki, we had the flooded Urenui River to keep us alert, as we recorded 820 mm of rain (around 33 inches) fell that month of Febuary 2004.
Elsie Hagley |
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Deforestation Issue Worldwide!
07:12:41 PM - 2007-06-18
DEFORESTATION IS AN ISSUE WORLDWIDE!
Deforestation (cutting down forest and not replanting it) is responsible for around 20 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
In New Zealand it is predicted that some 50 thousand hectares of forest will be deforested between 2008 and 2012
(thr first Commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol).
This will result in around 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere.
Unless this land conversion is managed,, the liability to the New Zealand tax payer for this conversion will be more than $650 million by 2012 (based on the current cost of carbon).
Deforestation can cause other environmental damage, such as degrading waterways and increasing erosion, and puts extra pressure on infrastructure like flood protection works, culverts and roads,
from greater sedimentations or rivers.
At the present the cost of deforestation are being borne by the community and the environment.
But if one thing is certain climate change is not going away and everyone of us worldwide has to start making serious progress on reducing our emissions.
The New Zealand Government in their Budget last month 2007 put $10 million to address
Hill Country Erosion.
$8 million for climate change research in New Zealand
$4 million for agricultural and forestry research on climate changes in conjunction with other countries.
With the ever changing climate in the World there are many issues to be faced before we destroy this Beautiful World we live in and Deforestation is a issue Worldwide.
Elsie Hagley
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