Severe Weather Advisory, Omicron Variant, National Holiday: Ensuring Your Safety
With Waitangi Weekend approaching, two national safety organisations, Mountain Safety Council (MSC) and Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ), are urging Kiwis to adopt a conscious safety approach for outdoor activities. The MSC's new app, Plan My Walk, can be a valuable tool for trampers, helping them find, plan, and prepare for walks in New Zealand. The app provides access to track alerts and MetService weather warnings, ensuring trampers are well-informed before embarking on their journeys. However, a tragic incident has highlighted the importance of safety. A male tramper's body was recovered from the remote Mt Adams Wilderness Area in the West Coast, marking the first fatality for 2022 in the tramping community. The current weather system rolling across the country makes good planning and taking extra precautions important. MSC and WSNZ advise postponing outdoor recreation plans across the South Island, particularly the West Coast, Tasman, and South Westland, due to multiple severe weather warnings issued by MetService. Anyone in neighbouring regions, such as Canterbury, Otago, Tasman, and Marlborough, should approach rivers with extreme caution. Heavy rain is causing rivers to rise significantly, making river crossings dangerous. Trampers and hunters are urged to avoid river crossings during this period, as high river levels are likely to last well through Waitangi weekend. Drowning is the leading cause of recreational death and the third highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand, according to Water Safety New Zealand Chief Executive Daniel Gerrard. Over the past decade, there have been twice as many tramping injuries and search and rescue call outs during Waitangi Weekend compared to a typical weekend. WSNZ highlights that underestimating risks and overestimating ability are the biggest mistakes people make when in the water. The Water Safety Code, which refers to being prepared, watching out for yourself and others, being aware of the dangers, and knowing your limits, is a useful guide for all outdoor activities. Daniel Gerrard advises remembering the water safety code. He also urges Kiwis to choose the right trip for their skills, understand the weather, pack warm clothes and extra food, share their plans and take ways to get help, take care of themselves and each other. The New Zealand Land Safety Code also emphasises the importance of planning and preparation. Choosing a destination suitable for the whole group is crucial for outdoor activities during Waitangi weekend. The safety reminders come as New Zealand Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand also urge Kiwis to be especially cautious about the land or water ahead of the upcoming Waitangi weekend and to inform themselves about the aims and impacts of MetService weather warnings. Let's make this Waitangi Weekend a safe one for all.
