Car yard crowded with write-offs after flood
A 1966 Mustang, a Porsche Cayenne, a fire engine and a handful of Suzuki Swifts are among the hundreds of vehicles written-off since the Napier floods.
Some drivers had no choice but to abandon their cars as they attempted to drive through the torrential rain on November 9.
Some broke down while trying to get home from work, while others were going out to inspect the flood damage or attempt to assist those in need.
Cars and utes were abandoned on streets, others sat on the side of the road or in flood-damage garages, only to be moved into crowded car yards near Hastings to await their fate of being sold or scrapped.
Now, close to 1000 vehicles sit abandoned in two car yards in Hawke’s Bay, with more being brought in each day.
About 230 cars sit in a yard in Whakatu¯, with some being loaded onto a truck to be taken to Auckland or sold online. Between 400 and 500 cars sit in Hawke’s Bay Machinery Movers’ car yard near Hawke’s Bay Hospital on Orchard Rd, Hastings.
Transport manager Mark Naylor said a further 50 cars would be coming in, and their fate, like the others, lay with the insurance companies
‘‘There were lots of late model vehicles, but most of those have been sold. There was a fire engine, I’m assuming it was one from Napier, a few caravans,’’ he said.
Naylor said many of the cars were insured through IAG, which then used Manheim auctions for on-selling their vehicles.
‘‘We store the vehicles here, photos are taken of them and put online, so it’s a fairly quick process.’’
As of yesterday, AA Insurance had received 297 vehicle claims.
Of those, 239 claims were deemed a total loss, of which 228 (95 per cent) have been processed and paid already. AA Insurance does not anticipate many more motor claims.
More than 100 homes were left uninhabitable after the one-in-250-year flooding event in Napier last month.
The Government had put in $100,000 to assist flood affected families, but Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said it was likely more funding would be needed.
The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment national manager Al Bruce said it was clear a number of households would need help finding temporary accommodation after the flooding.
Ministry staff were continuing to work closely with 51 families to find the best housing solutions for them.