Source: Radio New Zealand
Wellington City Council say free collection of flood waste will be going on in affected parts of the city for at least a week. Bill Hickman/RNZ
The mayor of Wellington says free collection of flood waste in affected parts of the city will go on for the rest of the week and possibly into the next.
In the hard hit suburb of Berhampore on Tuesday, large white council supplied storm waste bags lined the streets alongside, furniture, beds, GIB board and building materials from flooded out homes and shops.
Mayor Andrew Little said the council was unable to say – at this stage – how many homes had been damaged by the sudden flooding which swamped homes and neighbourhoods in the early hours of Monday morning last week.
“We had drop off points over the weekend. We distributed the one tonne bags – they have been well used – they are ready for pickup from today. We also had collections of the bigger items – fridges, big furniture – and collection of that stuff started yesterday.
“For some households their insurance companies are providing skips but there’s a bunch of houses and businesses who don’t have access to to that. This is a way of helping them and a cost we are prepared to incur to help them at their time of need,” he said.
Little said initial estimates indicated up to 25 homes could be uninhabitable.
“The main thing is we want to provide assistance to houses and businesses who have been affected and do the best we can to get the flood damaged stuff off their properties so they can focus on what the recovery and restitution looks like,” Little said.
Little said the collections would continue throughout the week and “possibly into next week” depending on demand.
Storm water system didn’t cope
Little said the extent of the sudden flooding took him by surprise.
“I got woken up by the amount of rain. I expected there would be flooding I just didn’t think it would be as much as it was. When I see the video images of water flowing down [Island Bay] Parade – as if it’s a river – that took me by surprise,” Little said.
Little said he was seeking advice on what council actions should follow the initial clean up efforts.
“We know that the storm water system didn’t cope – that’s the second time in about 30 years that has happened in those particular areas that were affected last week. So I’m asking for advice on an assessment of our storm water system generally and what – if anything – we need to be thinking about in the longer term future.
Little said flooding in 1995 led to larger diameter pipes being installed in parts of the city’s storm water system.
“Some actions were taken then but I need advice on whether there is anything more we need to do or if this is such a freak event that we don’t expect that will happen for a long long time in the future,” Little said.
Earlier this week MetService told RNZ one Wellington monitoring station recorded an extreme burst, with 77 millimetres of rain falling in just one hour during the deluge.
“The amount of water that fell was just so great that the stormwater system couldn’t cope and because Wellington is a set of hills and valleys the water just all flooded into the bottom of the hills and valleys – included Berhampore and Island Bay. The question is whether there is anything that we can do for the storm water system to cope better or is it just a risk we now have to factor in,” Little said.
Ian and Lena Walton say they became homeless, carless and scrambling to find whatever clothes they could in the space of half in hour in last week’s flooding. Bill Hickman/RNZ
Homeless in half and hour
On Palm Grove in Berhampore Ian and Lena Walton were overseeing the “full strip out” of their home of 31 years.
Lena Walton said she awoke to an “awful smell” and put her feet out of her bed to find knee deep water throughout her home.
The water would later peak near hip height.
“Within half an hour we’ve become temporarily homeless, car-less – because both cars are written off – and scrambling for clothes that didn’t touch the water,” Walton said.
The scene inside Lena and Ian Walton’s family home of more than 30 years. Bill Hickman/RNZ
Walton said her insurance company had leapt into action including providing an $30,000 emergency accommodation grant to house the couple while their home was unusable.
She said their response as well as the waste initiatives by the council and “random acts” of generosity from locals had been a small silver lining in the otherwise hugely stressful time.
“Any help that we can get. We’ve had water people come over. We’ve had councillors come over, just knocking on the door. We’re pretty grateful that people – outside of what we’re immediately going through – they care enough to actually show up – see how we’re going – and offer whatever help,” Walton said.
She struggled to contain her emotion as she tried to describe the impact of the damage to her home.
“It’s just the memories. It’s our first family home. I get these moments – you never know when it’s going to hit – but we’re so busy with everything that often there’s no enough time to think,” Walton said.
Walton said she understood it would be three months or more before they could return to their home.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
