Capital’s old homes lift quake danger
Wellington’s unusually large stock of old houses is putting residents at greater risk from earthquakes, the Insurance Council warns.
A survey run by the council shows the capital has the nation’s largest stock of homes more than 75 years old, and the fewest residents living in houses less than 25 years old.
The figures were not a surprise, but would be factored into the premiums Wellingtonians paid for earthquake cover, Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) chief executive Tim Grafton said.
The good news for capital residents is that the survey also showed Wellingtonians were better at checking their homes for quake resilience than homeowners elsewhere.
Wellington City Council chief resilience officer Mike Mendonca said this was positive, but there was room for improvement.
‘‘The reason we worry is, if you’re displaced from where your work, that’s one thing. But if you’re displaced from where you live, that’s another issue.’’
The city council was working towards an earthquake resilience budget to put forward for consideration in the city’s Long-Term Plan, he said.
The city’s commercial sector had vastly improved when it came to earthquake preparedness, but the residential sector had ‘‘never actually done it’’.
‘‘We are getting there.’’
The UMR phone survey, run by ICNZ, surveyed 750 people, including 300 Wellingtonians, aged over 18. It found 21 per cent of Wellingtonians lived in homes over 75 years old – six points higher than the national rate.
Homes between 26 and 75 years old housed 59 per cent of Wellingtonians, compared with 50 per cent nationally. Only 20 per cent of Wellingtonians lived in homes under 25 years old, compared with 34 per cent nationally.
Grafton said the capital’s older homes raised earthquake risks for Wellingtonians, who already faced a higher danger than people in other parts of the country because the city sat on three major fault lines.
The Wellington fault runs right through the middle of the capital. Other active faults in the region include the Wairarapa fault line and the ha¯riu fault line.
‘‘Older homes will be more vulnerable in an earthquake, generally,’’ Grafton said. ‘‘It’s important to do the checks for your own life, safety, to ensure the house won’t come down on top of you.’’
The survey found Wellingtonians were top in the nation when it came to checks on sub-floors for borer and dampness, even flooring, properly aligned foundations, braced roofs and repiled homes.