IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THOSE WHO WERE FLOODED IN JANUARY/FEBRUARY THIS YEAR & AUGUST 2021
The link below is from a new Auckland Council webinar about the categorisation process, detail and the time it will take.
The MAJOR takeaways from this webinar.
1. If your property has been repeatedly flooded, but there was not at an “intolerable risk to life” during those events, there will be NO FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE for flood mitigation on your property. This means you may have been forced out of your house for a long period of time while insurance assessments, payouts and reinstatement was being done, but there will be no future financial assistance to protect against future flooding. You will need to pay for the lifting of your own house if it’s possible and pay for all the consents which will be fast tracked, but not discounted.
2. The new flood viewer maps have raised the predicted flood water heights in 50-80 years time to 1.5-2.5m above ground level in many cases. This means if you wanted to raise the level of your house, it will have to comply with these new levels. The house will need to be lifted off its site, new poles rammed into the ground to 8-10m in some cases. The house will then be moved back into place, fixed, braced and new steps and rails built. THIS COULD EASILY COST $100,000 for a 3 bedroom house.
3. Added to this, the lowered property values and decreased saleability of flood affected homes means loans from banks to do this work could be more difficult to access for many.
4. The phrase “intolerable risk to life” lacks significant clarity.
It does not take into account:
people with physical disabilities who would be unable to safely move through floodwaters.
people with significant mental health issues or sensory issues, where moving through active floodwaters would be dangerous.
that having your house repeatedly flooded is in fact intolerable.
I will be doing my best to have the definition of this term broadened.
5. We are told it includes the speed and height of the flood waters,(see photo below as an example) but no information about how the assessment is being made has yet been given.
6.Anecdotally, the figure of 100cm of flood waters outside the house is a risk to life, but 60-70cm outside and 50cm inside your house would likely be insufficient for an “intolerable risk to life” rating depending on the speed of flood waters.
7. The problem that may be dawning on many of you is that by not assisting properties where water has repeatedly entered a home at a “tolerable” level there is no provision for disabled people, people with major health issues, people who have suffered trauma and are unable to return to their homes without extreme anxiety, the likelihood that insurance companies will likely cancel their flood insurance in the near future.
I strongly encourage you to contact your local MPs, councillor and Auckland Council recovery leaders if you think these guidelines need adjusting.
It is still a work in progress and the scale of the issues is extensive.
I would also encourage any of you who still haven’t registered as flood/slip affected. to do so asap.
Categorisation
Storm recovery documents
Register for categorisation here.
Monday’s webinar link
