Fallen tree narrowly misses Lower Hutt woman during storms. Photo: Facebook/Hutt Valley security noticeboard
A Lower Hutt woman is calling on the council to heavily chop back two pohutukawa trees, after a narrow escape from a large falling branch.
But Hutt City Council says it is one of more than 10,000 trees in the city that are inspected and pruned every year as needed, and that tree had not been identified as posing an imminent risk.
The council said it was aware of the incident, adding that it understood "this was a distressing experience and take all reports of tree safety seriously".
"The pohutukawa trees on Hayward Terrace are part of our street tree network, which includes nearly 12,000 trees city-wide.
"These trees are inspected annually, and maintenance, including pruning, is carried out as needed," the spokesperson said.
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Julie Paterson was on Hayward Terrace when the storm's southerlies ripped through the Wellington region on Thursday.
She said she heard a loud crack and ended up running for her life.
"[I saw] this huge branch cracking and falling and I was like, 'holy moly that's coming straight for me'," she told RNZ.
"And I just turned and started running the other way."
The branch landed about a metre from where she had been standing, and she believes it would have killed her if it had hit.
"I don't think I would be here… the trunk was quite big, solid. Y'know if any part of that had hit me, I would've been a goner, for sure," she said.
Paterson said she was very shaken-up after the near-miss.
"I went and poured myself a nice glass of wine."
She said it was terrifying and the council needed to do something about it.
"These are big trees and they're just swaying all over the show.
"I'm not saying cut them right down but we would like to see them not just trimmed. We want to see them with a decent cut because we know how dangerous they are."
No imminent risk had been identified with that particular tree, and assessments would be done on affected trees once the current weather event had passed.
"Pohutukawa trees are protected due to their ecological and cultural value, but public safety is always our top priority, and any concerns are assessed on a case-by-case basis," the spokesperson said.
"We are responding to a number of fallen trees and branches across the city and encourage residents to report tree issues directly to council for prompt investigation."
