COASTAL SHAKE- UP
East coast from Coromandel to south bears brunt of Cook’s wrath
Housing chiefs are poised to overhaul planning rules which could restrict people building waterfront properties, as local government and insurance officials look to prevent repeats of recent widespread flooding.
Hundreds of homeowners in Edgecumbe and Whanganui have been left with a massive cleanup job after recent flooding caused by rivers that run through their towns overflowing — with fears numerous homes in Edgecumbe could be deemed uninhabitable.
As the cleanup continues in the Bay of Plenty — including after Cyclone Cook — Insurance Council of New Zealand chief executive Tim Grafton said changing the way consents were issued could help prevent other properties from being damaged in future storms.
“Clearly you don’t want to con- sent right on the seashore where the sea level rise might affect them in years to come, or in flood plains where there might be a high likelihood of flooding in future,” he said.
The Insurance Council had been working with Local Government New Zealand ( LGNZ) for about three years to advise councils about the kinds of changes they could make to consent- issuing processes that could help minimise property damage during severe weather events.
That work was likely to increase given recent flooding events through residential areas alongside river banks.
Lawrence Yule, president of LGNZ and Hastings’ mayor, said research by the organisation found weather events were becoming more severe, and were happening more often because of climate change. Councils needed to respond, he said.
“Ultimately, it might actually lead to rethinking about where people are populated and live. We’re working on that but it has to be a long- term strategy, it’s not a simple fix.”
A report from the Environment Commissioner to Parliament last year said a 50cm high tide rise could impact on 9000 coastal properties, resulting in a potential $ 3 billion replacement cost.
Michael Boulgaris, a real estate agent specialising in luxury properties, said some coastal homes or those with sea views in Auckland could currently fetch four times the prices of properties without these features.
If bylaws changed, preventing people from building new homes close to the water, it could have a huge impact on home values, Boulgaris told the Weekend Herald.
“It will make it pretty tough because all they can really do is push the shoreline metreage back further to protect the properties from erosion or flooding. “So the sensible thing to do would be to have them elevated to step up to the properties, rather than pushing the boundaries further back.” However, he said, he understood why councils might make changes to consenting laws. Boulgaris said nobody could control mother nature and after local bodies were caught up in the leaky home saga — where homeowners took action after their consented properties leaked — it made sense that councils would do all they could to protect both themselves and homeowners. Brian King, general manager of Harcourts Hamilton, said riverside property in his city was desirable to buyers and came at a premium.
“There’s always strong demand for our riverfront and lakefront properties in Hamilton. Generally they are middle- to top- end or very topend of the market.”
He doubted the recent floods elsewhere would impact property prices in Hamilton specifically because the Waikato river was deep, fast and didn’t flood often.
But he added the recent storm damage could definitely impact the prices of property in lower- lying riverfront areas like in Edgecumbe.
As well as looking at potential changes to consenting close to waterways, local councils were also focusing on warning residents of weatherrelated emergencies earlier and educating them about what they should do in these situations, Yule revealed.
LGNZ was lobbying for a central agency to be set up to better assess the threat of all natural disasters — floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions — and to research how councils and communities could be more prepared for them, Yule said.
“The best way people have of minimising the risk, certainly to human life, but also to their property is making their own calls about what they need to do as early as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, North Islanders have been told to brace themselves for more major downpours over the coming month.
Niwa forecaster Ben Noll warned areas that bore the brunt of the earlier storms were likely to be the worst hit once again.
Residents who live near rivers should remain on alert because more flooding was also possible, Noll said.
It was wet, windy and wild — and then it was over.
While the havoc of Cyclone Cook has dissipated, the clean up is just beginning in some places.
Across the country roads flooded, rivers swelled and gusts of wind exceeding 200km/ h were recorded.
The Whakatane District was placed under a state of emergency and 130 took shelter at an evacuation centre. More than 11,400 homes lost power in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Wairarapa, Whanganui and Bay of Plenty.
In Christchurch the Heathcote River burst its banks; roofs were torn off houses in Hawke’s Bay, windows smashed in Whakatane, trampolines tossed in the air, mud dumped on roads and hundreds of trees uprooted across the island as the country took a battering.
Wind gusts exceeding 200km/ h were recorded by MetService on White Island in the Bay of Plenty, and on the mainland, Cape Kidnappers and coastal Gisborne registered 150km/ h gusts. In Napier winds “like freight trains” sent outdoor furniture and trees flying.
Danny- Boy Korepa was evacuated from his house in Edgecumbe after severe flooding last week, and found himself in the thick of Cyclone Cook as it tore through Whakatane.
He hunkered down with 10 other family members. When they return home theyface a big clean up.
Korepa said he is uninsured, and the damage caused by the flooding will be a big hit to him and his family.
“But there’s heaps of whanau out there that will come and help. We’re actually all right for now.”
It wasn’t just the locals affected by the cyclone.
The Roters family from Manchester were halfway through a threeweek Kiwi campervan holiday when they were unexpectedly caught up in Thursday’s major evacuation along the Bay of Plenty coastline.
“We had just arrived yesterday and were staying at Matata in the campground,” said mum Sally Roters.
“Police came and evacuated the area and told us to leave as soon as possible. They told us to go to the Memorial Hall in Whakatane.”
The family spent a noisy night in the hall with more than 100 others seeking refuge from the cyclone.
But she praised the kindness of those rallying to make everyone as safe as possible.
“It was very comfortable and people were very helpful,” Roters said.
Most of the country now looks to be in for a fine Easter. MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said there would be showers in most places but plenty of fine spells in between.