Unequal destruction: Crisis for whānau

Auckland’s floods have had very different consequences, upending the lives of many of the city’s most vulnerable families while life continues as normal in many wealthy neighbourhoods.

Mā ngere is still in crisis mode. The flooding that hit Auckland caused chaos but it is most severely felt in places like Mā ngere and Ranui – home to diverse communities and some of the most vulnerable as well. Now, as much of the city moves on, community groups in Mā ngere are going door to door. They have found homes with 20 people living in them, as families are forced to move in with neighbours and relatives after their own homes were flooded.

On Saturday, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown described the rainstorm as a ‘‘complex’’ phenomenon. ‘‘For some people, it was a very focused, dreadful, sudden storm. For other people it was a night of rain,’’ Brown said.

That wide disparity has continued through the emergency response and cleanup as well.

Harriet Pauga works at Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand, as its northern director for Pasifika health. But over the weekend, she became a DIY crisis response manager for Mā ngere.

‘‘We wanted to see what the Civil Defence was doing and what Auckland Emergency Management were doing. But there wasn’t anything,’’ she said. Pauga said the flooding was having a major impact on lower income whā nau, in part because the houses had more people living in them. State houses and affordable housing were also more likely to be on flood prone land. She said many families had been living in garages, which flooded more easily. Elderly tenants, disabled people and pensioners were also more likely to live in these homes, she said.

With other community leaders, including Auckland councillor Alf

Filipaina, Pauga set up an emergency response centre on Sunday – two nights after the rain hit.

It was so busy that they had to move to a bigger centre.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visited the Mā ngere emergency centre. Five nights after the flood, dozens of people were still arriving needing help.

Hipkins offered his support to the volunteers and agencies in Mā ngere. ‘‘I want to acknowledge the grassroots community support.’’ The floods hit South Auckland late on Friday. Bader Drive, the main road through Mā ngere, was under water by 9pm. Houses between Bader and the stream, many of which were state homes, were flooded. State housing agency Kā inga Ora has close to 300 properties with significant damage. As of Tuesday, it said 166 of its homes were uninhabitable.

Kā inga Ora acting deputy chief executive for the north John Tubberty said the agency was having to work quickly after widespread damage – and extra demands from families needing emergency accommodation.

‘‘We are concerned about the extent of flood damage to new Kā inga Ora homes in Ventura St, in Māngere,’’ he said. Many of those houses have been redstickered. ‘‘These are new homes that we hoped would last for many decades. We will be thoroughly investigating how and why they failed,’’ he said.

In Henderson, West Auckland, many state houses and homes of lower income families were flooded. Stuff spoke to residents in Henderson, hearing that many did not have contents insurance.

As the storm passed over Auckland, councillor Josephine Bartley said communities had been left to their own devices. Bartley said many thought more official help would arrive but it never did. In the movies, she said, the army or someone else always comes to save the day – but in Mā ngere and many other areas, it was neighbours and everyday people who dared to walk through the water.