Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi: 'Longer term solution' needed for coastal erosion

Thursday, 8 February 2018

Coastal inundation in the Granity, Hector, Ngakawau and Westport areas on Thursday after ex-tropical cyclone Fehi hit the West Coast of the South Island. (First published February 2018)

Residents living in erosion-prone coastal areas may have to move inland in the long-term, the Civil Defence minister says.

Minister Kris Faafoi was on the West Coast on Thursday to meet local mayors and visit coastal communities devastated after the remnants of tropical cyclone Fehi damaged roads and buildings, cut power to homes and stranded hundreds of tourists last week.

Faafoi said the issue of relocating away from the coast had come up at each of his meetings with mayors.

Greymouth residents have filled dozens of bags with rubbish left strewn on the beach by ex-Cyclone Fehi.

'They need a longer term solution. Serious questions are being asked about the sustainability of these communities. Now is the time for us to talk to other ministries, councils and the insurance industry and attack that,' he said.

**READ MORE:

Greymouth residents pitch in to clean-up their beach after the storm.

* West Coast's ex-cyclone Fehi bill already at $6.7 million

* West Coast church destroyed by ex-tropical cyclone Fehi

Rubbish on the beach at Cobden Tip Head and Shipwreck Point was exposed when a storm lashed the West Coast and Greymouth.

* When the storm hit Granity – the West Coast town being eaten alive**

Granity resident Richard King-Turner said the storm had created a 'bit of a mess' around his Torea St house, with driftwood and debris from his neighbour's house – which was subsequently yellow-stickered – coming onto the property.

He said there had been meetings about coastal erosion and the possibility of relocation for years, but he felt it was 'not an option'.

'Where are we going and how can we afford to if we haven't got insurance?'

The alternative – protection from the encroaching sea – came with its own issues. 'Whatever we do now, in 10 years' time is going to be buggered anyway because of the way the sea is going.'

A home completely encircled due to coastal inundation. Seawater got as far as the road and paddocks behind waterfront properties in the Granity area.

Buller Mayor Garry Howard welcomed the minister's comments about coastal erosion, saying it was not just an issue for the 'West Coast of the South Island, but for all the coastline of New Zealand'.

'We've got to have more active discussions about relocation and develop a plan about that. But it changes with each community – it's not a one thing fits all situation.'

The Tasman Sea is eating away Granity's coastline on the West Coast.

Howard said the West Coast Regional Council met last year with residents of the coastal towns most affected by erosion – Granity, Hector and Ngākawau – to discuss the prospect of relocation.

A total of 32 homes have been red-stickered and 27 yellow-stickered in the Buller district as a result of storm Fehi. Howard said it was too early to estimate the cost of recovering from the storm.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn and Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi at Cobden Beach where an old rubbish dump was exposed during ex-cyclone Fehi.

Coastal erosion features on the West Coast's Carters Beach.

West Coast Regional Council chairman Andrew Robb said he estimated up to 40 homes were damaged beyond repair. He discussed the issue of relocating communities with Faafoi.

'Extreme weather events are going to happen more often and it's starting to happen now. Unfortunately we can't protect the Coast against that,' he said.

Moving Franz Josef away from the Alpine Fault and the flood-prone Waiho River, which was building up about 30 centimetres a year, was an option, he said.

'Spending millions on sea walls or flood walls isn't feasible long-term. We are having these discussions with our communities and I believe from talking to Minister Faafoi, he wants to have that conversation as a country with a multi-agency approach rather than with individual communities as they are affected.'

Both the Insurance Council and the NZ Transport Agency said it was too early to count the cost of the storm, but a Vero spokesperson said it had received 226 claims so far, including just over 40 from the West Coast.

Granity resident Rona Perrott said her accommodation, food and bar business – Miners on Sea – had suffered drainage and electrical damage from salt water inundation, but would reopen on Friday as it was fully booked for the Buller Marathon on Saturday.

She said relocating coastal communities was a real possibility as erosion ate away New Zealand's coastlines, but she questioned who would fund the process.

'It will have to be taken seriously – we can't bury our heads in the sand any longer. It will have to be dealt with and decisions made,' she said.