Storms and flooding hit poorest hardest
THERE are fears those at the bottom of the financial ladder could be plunged into even deeper debt after losing everything in Auckland’s floods.
Thousands have had to leave their homes – 277 homes have been labelled as uninhabitable – after historically heavy rains fell on January 27.
But ahead of more potentially damaging storms courtesy of Cyclone Gabrielle, the people working with those worst affected have said the flooding is just the start of the problem and people already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis would see their problems compounding.
Natalie Vincent, the chief executive of non-profit microfinance organisation Ngā Tā ngata, said people were already stretched dealing with the extra costs of Christmas and school holidays.
‘‘People’s cars have been washed off the road – gone – and they will still owe money on that,’’ Vincent said. ‘‘What position are they in now they owe to a car dealer that’s probably charging some extortionate amount of interest on a car they no longer have.’’
Many of those she dealt with were also uninsured, as food and insurance are often the first things on the chopping block when things got tight, she said.
Those heading through the Civil
Defence centre in Mā ngere were being given food parcels and could meet with representatives from the Ministry of Social Development, Kainga Ora and other agencies helping them into temporary homes and to access payments.
Manukau Ward councillor Alf Filipaina said the centre had already dished out nearly 10,000 food parcels.
One of those seeking help was Manurewa resident Ezekiel , who asked for his surname not be used.
He, his wife and their two young children had left their house to stay with family once they knew it was going to be bad, as he is vision impaired.
They were at the evacuation centre to see what help there was as he said they were already ‘‘living on the edge’’.
‘‘We are careful with what we have, we can’t afford to lose anything because there isn’t any back up. We only just get by with what we get, so we can’t go spending extra on things we usually wouldn’t.’’
More than 500 Kā inga Ora properties had been found to be flood damaged or have associated safety issues, with that number expected to rise.
The Insurance Council has already clocked about 20,000 claims across house, contents, motor and commercial insurance, and insurer IAG has said it expects to pay out more than $383 million in claims.