Repeat vandalism and theft from weather and flood monitoring stations in Taranaki could be "putting people's lives at risk", the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) has warned.
The warning follows damage to a monitoring site on the Waiwhakaiho River near Mitre 10 Mega and The Valley in New Plymouth, the second time the site had been targeted in three months and the third since it was installed in 2020.
Council’s environmental data team leader Craig Pickford said damage to the equipment could delay warnings to the public during severe weather.
"The Waiwhakaiho River is a particularly dynamic waterway and can change very quickly after heavy rainfall so we need to be able to rely on real-time data if the river is rising and could pose a threat to those living and working nearby," Pickford said.
Pickford said the most recent incident involved the station's door being ripped off and equipment stolen.
"While we accept some monitoring stations are damaged by severe weather events, it’s hard to understand why anyone would intentionally put people’s lives at risk."
Other monitoring sites had also been targeted by theft and vandalism, including the Waiwhakaiho at Rimu Street and the Mangati at SH3 stations.
"Our message to those committing these senseless acts is to stop and think about their actions, as these stations provide the crucial information we need to keep the public informed about when to get to safety in the event of a flood."
The lower Waiwhakaiho gauge had since been repaired, and police said it was investigating the latest incident.
The weather monitoring stations were a part of a region-wide monitoring network managed by the TRC, which provide real-time environmental data about rainfall, river levels, wind speed, air temperature, water quality and river flow.
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