Six months after flood: 75% of claims settled
‘Light at end of tunnel’ for Napier residents
Six months after Napier suffered the second-wettest day on record, threequarters of insurance claims are settled.
The deluge on November 9, 2020, which saw 242mm of rainfall in a day, caused significant damage to houses, buildings and land, with a local state of emergency declared.
Half a year later, 75 per cent of the insurance claims on damaged properties in Napier are settled, according to Napier mayor Kirsten Wise.
She said there were still a “small number of complex situations” on Napier Hill being dealt with by EQC.
Chris Dale, whose Havelock Rd home was damaged after a 3m-high, 10m-long retaining wall crashed into his house, reached a settlement with EQC.
Dale, who has lived at the property for 12 years, said although the ordeal had been “traumatic”, he will end up better off than before the floods.
“You wouldn’t know properties are still damaged as you can’t see it from the street. But there is plenty of light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’ve got to put a substantial new retaining wall in, so out of that I’m putting in a big deck over the top and changing my outdoor living for the better.”
According to Wise, one council facility is still affected — the Rodney Green Centennial Event Centre.
The venue’s specialised floor needs replacing, requiring materials from overseas. As a result, it is not expected to fully reopen until early 2022.
A number of steps on Napier Hill and two Napier roads — Karaka Rd and Hooker Ave — also remain affected.
The Onslow steps remain closed because are they are “unstable”, with redesign work under way for the area. Once design is complete, reconstruction can begin.
“We expect to have this work completed late 2021,” Wise said.
Repair completion dates are not yet known for the Fitzroy and May Ave-Faraday steps.
“The Tiffen steps need some minor remedial work done, but are open and assessed as safe to use.”
Wise said the Napier community reacted in a traditional Kiwi fashion, “looking out for each other, helping their neighbours and banding together in response and recovery”.
On Barker Rd, Marewa, Tracey Tasovac moved back into her home just a month ago after spending five months living with family friends while repairs were done.
Tasovac said she will never forget the water streaming through her house on November 9.
“It was coming in the front door, the back door, through the roof, we had a waterfall in the washhouse and then it was just coming up through the floor,” she told RNZ.
“The hallway was just absolute sewage coming up through the floor.
Tasovac says she was told she would be back in her Marewa home by the end of February, but delays in finding a painter, waiting on a new kitchen and reinsulating extended her stay away.
Wise said as with any emergency situation, there was always room for improvement.
“We review our systems and structures and ensure we know what went well and what could be improved.”