Family’s frantic search for shelter
Staying at homes of friends only option after flood
Successive downpours have forced a migrant family to hunt for temporary shelter for a third time after their rental home was swamped by debris-filled floodwater.
Migrant worker Amit Bhardwaj and his family are jumping from one friend’s house to another in need of shelter since the deluge of Friday last week.
The family’s Sandringham rental was flooded twice in the torrential rains of the past seven days.
“My son is scared of rain now. He had to walk 400 metres in water to get to safety,” Bhardwaj told the NZ Herald.
The 11-year-old, who is 1.2m tall, walked from their Parish Rd home to Sandringham Rd in 90cm deep floodwaters.
“We have been living in extreme uncertainty . . . like we have nowhere to go.
“All our belongings are still inside the house, most of them are damaged, my car was sunken in the water, and emergency services had to tow it out.
“It is a very terrible time for us, we don’t know when or if the home will be safe to live in,” he said.
Bhardwaj’s wife and son were inside the house when it started raining on Friday January 27 and they sent him photos of the water rising around the property.
“My son was on the phone and crying, he was scared. He has not seen something of this nature before. I had to assure him everything will be fine. At that time there was less water coming inside but outside the level was beginning to rise.
“I work in the CBD, I finished and was on my way to catch the train, but the service got cancelled. So I took the bus and the journey was disrupted because they had to stop a lot.
“I got off at Newmarket and had to walk in the rain to my car which was parked in Mt Smart Stadium. It took me two to three hours to get home.”
By that time, friends had taken his wife and son to their home in Blockhouse Bay.
“When I got inside my house to pick up clothes, water was coming from between the wooden panels on the floor. The whole carpet was damaged, beds and electronics as well.
“The whole house was mess.”
The landlord came two days later and told Bhardwaj they would prioritise the clean-up of their rental.
Since then, the family have moved again to another friend’s house in Sandringham near the Hindu Temple.
“It would have been worse if the rain hadn’t stopped. In our street, many homes have been affected. One of my friend’s houses had two to three-foot-deep water inside.”
Bhardwaj said his situation was quite stressful having just returned to the country after being stuck overseas on a migrant worker visa.
“We are not in a position to spend money, we were already in a bad situation and now this flood has added fuel to the fire. in a
“For migrants like us, our life is anyway uncertain. I went overseas in February 2020 and was stuck there for 25 months before I could come back here. The Government gave us two years visa but did not include residency.
“We can’t take leave or the employer won’t give us the job or reduce our hours . . . this is a genuine fear.”
Although the family had some help from Civil Defence in terms of food and living costs for a few days, he was unable to be there for his wife and son.
“I have been doing six days this past week at work. I am working extra so my wife can stay with our son.
“I can’t work from home because my job requires me to be at the location.
“The property manager told me I don’t have to pay rent, but I don’t know for how long. I assume the landlord would want the money.”
Bhardwaj said he had to find another shelter for his family within the next four days as the place they are staying at now is not available long-term.
“When you live at someone else’s house it is not your own, my friends are nice but it is not the same. My belongings and clothes are still stuck in the rental, I have been wearing the same clothes for the past week.
“If we do decide to move back we want it to be completely safe for our son. His school is starting soon as well and if we intend to move we would have to find another rental which would be difficult because thousands will be looking.”
Migrant Workers Association president Anu Kaloti said Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni’s office had confirmed that all temporary visa-holding migrants affected by the Auckland floods were eligible for the support available through the Civil Defence and Work and Income offices.
“Any migrants in need of support can call into their nearest evacuation centre or Work and Income office to seek help. They can also ring the 0800 numbers designated for the relevant government agencies providing assistance.”
Kaloti said anyone concerned about their work rights could contact the Migrant Workers Association for advice.
“Migrant workers must not fear taking time off work if that’s what
they need to bring back some form of normalcy amid stressful times.”
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown yesterday announced they city’s state of emergency would be extended for another seven days after the record-breaking rainfall caused widespread floods and landslides.
Brown said the extension was necessary because Auckland remained in the response phase with new damage and risks to the public continuing to be reported, meaning access to emergency powers was still required.
Brown noted the state of emergency could be terminated early if it was no longer required.
Already more than 200 homes around the city have been redstickered after being assessed as being too unsafe to enter.