The State of Emergency for the Coromandel remains in place due to the elevated risk of a debris dam failure at Koputauaki, north of Coromandel Town.

On Wednesday morning, the Thames-Coromandel District Council Civil Defence team, Waikato Regional Council and a Koputauaki community leader met to discuss options based on the latest expert and scientific information.

Helicopter sluicing at the dam site last weekend did improve water flow, enough to make the decision with the community today to ‘let nature take its course' with no intervention.

While the risk of dam failure remains very high, it is certain to be impacted further next week with another Cyclone heading toward the North Island, says Thames-Coromandel District Council in its latest update.

'Our Council and WRC will be working closely with the Koputauaki community over the next few days ensuring as many mitigation measures as possible and welfare support is in place.

We continue to assist a number of people who were also displaced last week with accommodation and welfare needs.”

Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler is considering the options of the current state of emergency given the possible intensity of a new cyclone, which is due to start building from Monday.

'We will have a much clearer picture by Friday on where the cyclone is tracking and what we are likely to face on the Coromandel next week, so having the wide range of powers and access to resources if we need them will be the key as to whether we stay in a declared or transition state,” says Garry.

'We will have a further update today.”

While the rain has ceased, slips are still forming like the one on Port Jackson Road as the soils dry out and settle.

Roading update

Roading teams are out across the district this week, dealing with the problems and attending to the increasing number of issues being reported by the public.

While the rain has ceased, slips are still forming like the one on Port Jackson Road (pictured below) as the soils dry out and settle, says a council spokesperson.

'Problems like this are not an easy fix and will take some time to remedy.

'Our geotechnical inspectors are working across over 50 similar sites across the roads in the district, some much more severe than this. Priority will be given to communities served by single lane roads and those with no alternate access.

'In the meantime, the maintenance crews are busy clearing the remaining damage and making good, in the knowledge that another similar rain event is already on the radar.”