Source: Radio New Zealand
Silt and water in Neal Jenkins and Tahni Daniels’ Berhampore home. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Homes will have to be gutted and businesses could be closed for months in the wake of Wellington’s Monday flood.
The damage is estimated to potentially run hundreds of millions of dollars across the city, where a state of emergency remains in effect.
Berhampore couple Tahni Daniels and Neal Jenkins are having to strip the contents of their house after it flooded on Monday.
Jenkins said the flood came towards their house like a tsunami, damaging most of the contents in the lower level of their home, little of which has been salvageable.
“it just felt within minutes it was knee-deep,” he said.
“Luckily we’ve got a little upstairs bedroom, so I […] had my youngest three-year-old girl in one hand and dog in the other hand and my little boy who’s six wading through the water with me and we just went upstairs.”
Berhampore couple Tahni Daniels and Neal Jenkins are having to strip the contents of their house after it flooded on Monday. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Daniels’ home hairdressing salon has also been destroyed and she said she’d have to start over.
She said some salons had reached out who were happy for her to work on their premises
“All the furniture’s trashed and gone because it was all wet and just really sad because I started this business six years ago and I had the babies and it’s like our life.”
Little has been salvageable in their home either.
“The saddest thing is the kids’ stuff, because all of theirs is low down. So it’s like all of their stuff, toys, beds, clothes.”
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Meanwhile, restaurant Parla will be shut for a couple of months after being flooded by about forty centimetres of water.
Co-founder Tom Parsonson said it was surreal to see his business flooded by this week’s storm.
“It was a strange way to start the week. It’s just crazy to think that much water can appear so quickly.”
Parsonson said they have good insurance, which will cover support for staff and repairs.
“It’s still pretty shocking for staff to sort of wake up on a Monday and learn that their place of business is temporarily not operating.”
He said Parla’s customer-favourite Mont Blanc coffees will be sold at their sister business, Sourdough Wellington, from this weekend.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Mayoral fund launched
A $100,000 Mayoral Relief Fund has been launched to support Wellingtonians affected by Monday’s severe weather, with the city calling on Wellingtonians for further donations.
The fund will be administered by the Wellington City Mission, who is still helping people affected by the flood.
Missioner Murray Edridge expected their support would be needed for weeks, if not months yet.
“The problem with the weather becoming better, and we’re delighted that it is, is that all of us start to move on with our lives, and yet we’ve got people who are in really significant trauma and loss. Many of them will be uninsured or underinsured and they just need the support of the community around them.”
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Edridge said he was working with nearly 40 families, getting them support and temporary accommodation.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said they were still finding out the full cost of the storm, but he believes it could be tens, if not hundreds of millions.
“Insurance assessors are still out and about assessing damage,” he said. “It might be some weeks before we know the true cost of these floods.”
Little was calling for donations from locals who could afford to kick in cash or things like furniture, saying some families had lost everything.
Storm claims flooding in
IAG said it had received 509 claims in the Greater Wellington region across AMI, State and NZI – three insurance brands underwritten by IAG, with 351 in Wellington City.
Tower meanwhile reported it had received less than 130 claims from the Wellington region.
The Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake said the Wellington weather event between 18 – 21 April had so far generated 43 claims for natural hazards insurance.
“We expect this number to increase over time as people often have other urgent priorities after events and damage to land doesn’t always show up straight away, and as the ground settles, issues like cracks, slips or drainage problems can become more visible.”
If homeowners were affected by a landslide, Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake provided cover for the home and land.
If affected by a storm or flood, NHC provided cover for land only, with the home to be covered by private insurance.
People rally on storm Givealittle pages
A couple of Givealittle pages have been started for those impacted by the storms with $37,000 already raised for an Ōwhiro Bay family of five who fled their flooded home with only their pyjamas on.
Another Givealittle campaign has raised $6,000 for an 87-year-old woman who was rescued by her son-in-law, Gavin Naftel, and emergency services.
Houses white and yellow stickered in Hutt City
Hutt City Council said five properties had been placarded in rapid building assessments following flooding in the last week.
Of the properties located in Stokes Valley and Eastbourne, four had been white stickered, which meant they were safe to occupy with monitoring, and one yellow stickered, meaning restricted access.
The council said its officers were continuing to work with affected homeowners.
It said as the state of emergency in Hutt City had now ended, further actions will be managed under the Building Act 2004.
The council said its roading network had also held up well with only minor cleanup work required.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
