Updated: 7:52am – Arborists cleaning up the thousands of trees that have come down in Auckland’s storm are also checking the safety of those left standing.
Auckland Council said almost every street in the city had some degree of tree damage after Tuesday night’s storm, with many trees blocking roads or taking out powerlines, buildings or fences.
The council’s head of operational management, Agnes McCormack, said work would go around the clock until at least Monday to fell dangerous or troublesome trees.
While they were at each job, contractors would do a visual inspection to see if any of the other trees nearby could be dangerous, she said.
They were also trying to prioritise cutting down dangerous trees or those causing power cuts before going back to clear the rest, Ms McCormack said,
In most case contractors would leave the cut branches and trunks because once they have made a tree safe they move onto the next one.
They would then be cleared and turned in to mulch next week, she said.
The council had had 2000 calls to help with fallen trees since the storm but said there would be many more that had come down.
Meanwhile, lines company Vector said about 9000 homes were still without power, with some likely to remain so until well into next week.
-RNZ
Featured image: A tree that was toppled by the winds at Three Kings school in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Matthew Hutching
