Floodhit victims welcome state of emergency extension

AUCKLAND: Auckland’s state of emergency has been extended for another week, as rain continues to soak the already sodden region, and families try to clean up their flooded homes.

In Mangere, one of the harderhit areas of Auckland, hundreds of people were at the community hubs looking for help.

Most people spoken to by media said it was just common sense that the state of emergency had been extended.

‘‘Many areas around, not only in South Auckland, . . . central Auckland is still flooding,’’ one woman said.

‘‘That’d be about the only bloody decision they could make, . . . look at it,’’ a man said, indicating the stillfalling rain.

However, after a devastating week of unprecedented rain, sunstarved Aucklanders will finally glimpse some fairer weather this weekend.

‘‘Very definitely the worst is over in Auckland,’’ MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker said.

The long Waitangi weekend weather is forecast to be partly cloudy with some showers likely, but nothing like Monday night and last Friday’s deluges.

Mayor Wayne Brown issued a mea culpa yesterday as he announced the extension.

‘‘I dropped the ball on Friday. I was too slow to be seen. The communications weren’t fast enough, including mine. I am sorry.’’

In a prerecorded video statement, he said the decision to extend the state of emergency followed advice from local and national emergency management experts.

‘‘In a nutshell, that’s because of the risk of ongoing slips, blocked roads and remaining flooding.

‘‘We’re also mindful that it’s still raining pretty hard in some parts of our region.

‘‘We are now so waterlogged that even a modest amount of rain could do a lot of damage.’’

The emergency powers had barely been used so far, but having the declaration in place allowed relevant authorities to issue legally binding instructions, he said.

Mangere has a high Pasifika population — many of whom were affected by last Friday’s floods.

Minister for Pacific Peoples Barbara Edmonds, who grew up in the area, said the community had been hit hard in the past five years by measles, Covid and now the flooding.

She was speaking to locals at the Pacific Response Hub about what help they needed.

‘‘It’s definitely cleanup, some families here have said food.

‘‘Because it’s the start of the school year, stationary costs, uniform costs.

‘‘Those are pressures that they would have normally every year but obviously with floods having to divert some of your family money to other areas, those are the types of needs that they have.’’

Ministry for Pacific Peoples chief executive Gerardine CliffordLidstone said some people were just sitting on their doorsteps, because they did not know what to do.

While the hub would not reach everyone who needed help, those who did come could help connect others to the right agencies.

‘‘It’s so fantastic to see these providers that did such a fantastic job for us over Covid pull together again to provide the base for our community to come to.

‘‘Once you do that, that’s when you get into those communities that are most disconnected to the system — they will be connected with their families.’’ — RNZ