Media history has been made in New Zealand.
The elephant in the room has been acknowledged - sort of.
The following is a (note very professionally produced) discussion of this news and what it means
--SMR
Retreat
from coast may be 'inevitable'
Coastal
parts of New Zealand are becoming more vulnerable to extreme weather
events and scientists say retreating from certain areas may end up
being the only option.
16
June 2015
Damaging
waves, like those that battered
Wellington's south coast on Sunday,
are predicted to occur more often as sea levels continue to rise.
Victoria
University professor of physical geography James Renwick said coastal
erosion, caused by climate change, was the most pressing issue facing
the country.
"We're
a long, narrow country with a lot of coast and a lot of people live
near the coast ... and if one thing is for sure, it's that sea levels
are rising.
"It
does pose a very serious problem," he said.
He
said reversing the effects of climate change was almost impossible but
said the sooner carbon emissions were reduced, the less the sea
levels would rise.
Dr
Renwick said managed retreat from coastal areas was an emotive topic
but one that could not be avoided.
"Over
time we do have to look at moving back from the present coastline
because the coastline is going to move inland - that's the reality."
Ocean
erosion threatens the coastal route in Otago.
Photo: RNZ
MetService
meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said extreme weather events were a
combination of rising sea levels and daily weather patterns such as a
high tide or strong onshore wind.
She
said the forecast El Nino meant Wellington would probably experience
more damaging storms over winter and spring.
The
Kaikoura coast, Gisborne and Hawke's Bay and parts of Auckland were
also "very vulnerable" to high tides and a "stormy
onshore event".
A
road closed at Lyall Bay on the weekend due to storm surges.- Photo: Stephen
Lynch
Wellington
city councillor David Lee said people seemed to believe climate
change was something to deal with in 50 or 100 years but its effects
were already being experienced.
Mr
Lee said protecting coastal areas or lifting at-risk properties were
options, but ultimately the discussion about managed retreat from
some land needed to be had.
"[It's]
quite a big call because it means almost abandoning certain areas and
saying these areas are not suitable to development ... and maybe
there is no ability to actually protect."
NIWA
scientist Richard Gorman studies wave patterns and said rising sea
levels were undoubtedly causing more damaging waves.
He
said New Zealand needed to think about climate change on a global
scale because the country was often affected by storms in other parts
of the world.
Earlier
this month, Local Government New Zealand announced it was looking at
establishing a risk management agency.
Councils
around the country, including Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch,
are incorporating natural hazard protection into their long-term
planning.
Cleaning
up road damage on Wellington's southern coast in 2013. Photo: Simon
BaumfieldRelated-
Storm
surges new normal, says mayor
As
council workers mop up on Wellington's South Coast after yesterday's
storm, Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown warns it could be the new
normal for parts of the capital.
The waves closed the road between the eastern end of Lyall Bay to Moa Point Road.
15
June 2015
As
high tide struck at about 2.45pm, four-metre waves flooded properties
and washed debris and rocks onto coastal roads.
The
road between the eastern end of Lyall Bay to Moa Pt Road, and the
Airport tunnel, were closed for 24 hours after large swells washed up
rocks and debris.
Wellington
City Council crews worked to clear the debris and reopened the road
about 4.30pm today but warned it remained slippery because of mud.
Cape
Palliser Road on the Wairarapa coast, which opened for essential
traffic today, has now been closed to all vehicles.
Wellington
City Council said considerable work was going into planning for
future swells which could gradually erode the coast line.
Ms
Wade-Brown said despite efforts to improve sea walls, planting and
strengthening dunes, some stretches of road were already being
undercut.
She
said it was a matter of how long such coastal roads lasted when
similar storm surges were likely to become more frequent and
preventative measures could be taken.
Several
roads on Wellington's south coast are vulnerable to high seas.
Photo: Twitter/
@NickMillsSr
"It
was a beautiful, beautiful day yesterday, the storm was well off the
coast, but it pushed the great, big southerly in very hard, so Lyall
Bay, Island Bay had wonderful views, but it's a bit worrying."
She
said Wellington was part of a network of resilient cities and was
drawing on expertise from around the world where cities were coping
with similar problems.
The
proposed runway expansion to Wellington airport was being designed
with storm surges and higher sea levels in mind, and was based on
estimated sea levels 100 years from now.
But
the cost to infrastructure caused by sea level rises was being borne
by ratepayers, Ms Wade-Brown said, and its underlying cause of carbon
emissions must be addressed at a national level.
"Let's
look back at the initial causes of some of this, not just mopping up
the symptoms," she said.
A
passer-by watches high waves roll in during a storm surge at Lyall
Bay on Wellington's South Coast. Photo: Stephen
Lynch
Some
residents took advantage of the big well. Photo: Stephen
Lynch
The
tides washed up rocks near Wellington Airport. Photo: Wellington
City Council
Another shot of the closed road near the airport.
Photo: Stephen
Lynch
Scary
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