Marlborough floods a year on; new report suggests human behavior a major cause

It's been a year since torrential rain caused devastating flooding in the Marlborough District resulting in a very scarred landscape, and disrupted lives and livelihoods. The August 2022 weather event followed one in July the previous year - which combined caused 8000 landslides. Marlborough District Council environmental scientist Matt Oliver says the extensive damage is not all weather related and human behavior has been a major contributing factor to instability in the area - including the clearing of native trees. This was born out in recent research by GNS, commissioned by the Council. There are still hundreds of people affected by both weather events living day to day on incredibly damaged land. The Council is consulting ratepayers over a proposed plan for fixing the broken Sounds transport network that will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Kathryn speaks with Council soil scientist Matt Oliver and Keneperu Sound farmer Emma Hopkinson.