The clean-up is now underway in Invercargill and Bluff following last week’s storm, but the extent of the damage is still growing, with additional trees reported to have fallen overnight.

A state of emergency was declared for the Southland region on Friday, including Invercargill and Bluff, after gale-force winds struck the province, causing significant damage across Invercargill city parks and facilities.

Council Chief Executive Michael Day said almost all of the city’s green spaces remained closed until further notice due to safety concerns. The Parks team had reported more trees had fallen overnight and into this morning.

“We cannot stress enough how important it is for people to stay out of all of our parks, reserves, sports fields, and playgrounds until they are reopened,” he said.

“We are absolutely not out of the danger zone. We have been really lucky that nobody in our community has been injured, or worse. Even though the winds have eased, a huge number of trees and branches are still in a really precarious and vulnerable position, and they are extremely dangerous. Despite our repeated warnings, and the continued threat to public safety, we’re still getting reports of people accessing our parks and reserves. Please stay away. Safety of our staff and community is our first concern."

Staff and contractors were now focusing efforts on restoring public access to those areas and facilities that had sustained significant damage. “Our teams are working to get our community back on its feet as quickly as we can. The storm itself was relatively short, but unfortunately the aftermath will be much more prolonged and time-consuming,” Day said.

As of Wednesday, only Surrey Park and its surrounding areas – including the grandstand, softball area, old Surrey Park School site, and the Pirates-Old Boys Rugby Club grounds – had been deemed safe enough to reopen.

The Otepuni Walkway (between Elles Rd – Lindisfarne St, and Forth St – Elles Rd), Thomsons Bush, Donovan Park, Anderson Park, Queens Park, and the Omaui Scenic Reserve had all been deemed particularly high-risk, and would require the most work to restore, Day said.

It was important people allowed the Parks team and its contractors to continue technical assessments of the damage, and begin the clean-up, he said. As part of the recovery process, some smaller branches that had fallen would be mulched.

Meanwhile, logs and trunks would eventually be made available as free firewood for the community or milled for other use, he said. “The damage that’s been sustained to our green spaces is unlike any other weather event we have seen in our parks and reserves before. The recovery effort will take weeks, if not longer, and it is going to require a huge amount of work, specialist equipment, and expert knowledge. The scale of the destruction is really staggering,” Day said.

Another key focus for Council’s teams had been restoring the roading network. Debris from trees and other vegetation had overloaded many kerbs and roadside drains, however the team had worked around the clock to remediate this, he said.

Most roads had now been reopened, with work to remove damaged trees at the Queens Dr and Don St intersection now completed. Queens Dr (between Yarrow and Tay streets) and Don St (between Doon St and Queens Dr) had been temporarily closed to allow work to be undertaken safely.

Sandy Point Rd was also reopened this morning. However, all forestry areas were still unsafe and must not be entered. This included any recreational areas, including the Sandy Point mountain bike tracks and car park, Day said.

Bus service operations and railway crossings were operating as usual. Splash Palace had sustained significant roof damage on Thursday, but had been reopened this morning, he said. “Everybody’s safety – our customers, and our staff – is our highest priority. Fortunately, we’ve been able to sort out a temporary solution to allow us to welcome our community back to the swimming pool safely, while we get a permanent fix sorted,” he said.

All three waters operations, as well as the transfer stations, in Invercargill and Bluff were also running as normal. Te Hīnaki Civic Building, the Invercargill Public Library, and the Civic Theatre were open as well, however the Bluff Service Centre remained closed until further notice due to ongoing power issues, he said.

“It’s going to take quite some time, and a community-wide effort, for our city to resemble something a bit closer to what we’re used to. But the work to get through it has begun, and we appreciate everybody’s support as we do the mahi to get back to normal.”

Council would continue to provide updates with the latest information on its own channels, including the Antenno app – which sent alerts straight to your phone – as well as on social media and its website here.