Auckland tornado: Papatoetoe residents in lockdown limbo, waiting for repairs

Thursday, 2 September 2021

Drone footage shows the damage caused by the tornado in Papatoetoe (First published June, 2021)

For more than a month, Christine McGillicudy’s home has been encircled by scaffolding as she waits for repairs on her home.

She is one of many Papatoetoe, south Auckland residents who have been left in limbo by the Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown, which put a halt to much of the work being done to fix damage done by a deadly tornado.

The twister left close to a dozen houses uninhabitable and more than 60 heavily damaged when it hit on June 19.

By August, about $32 million had been paid out for insured losses, the Insurance Council of New Zealand reported.

About $32 million has been paid out by insurers so far, making this the most expensive tornado ever in New Zealand.

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Work had been continuing until the lockdown was announced on August 17, when nearly all New Zealanders were asked to confine themselves to their homes in response to an outbreak of the Delta variant of the virus.

But for McGillicudy, it’s been a source of frustration.

Her roof continues to leak when it rains and the tarpaulin covering her roof threatens to blow away in strong winds.

Insurance companies have been given exemptions to continue essential and critical repairs at their discretion by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

But McGillicudy said she couldn’t seem to convince anyone from her insurance company that the work to repair her home fell within the “essential work” category, even though she could hear the water dripping in her ceiling on stormy nights.

About $24 million of the $32 million paid in insurance, so far, has been paid to private residents.

And with Auckland’s lockdown extended another two weeks, her situation wasn’t likely to be resolved anytime soon, she said.

“Why is it that at level 4 these roofs can’t be fixed?” she said.

“It’s the prime time when builders aren’t working on any new builds.”

For the insurance companies the risks need to be weighed against how critical the work is, ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton said.

Although tradies can carry out work such as emergency plumbing, electrical or security work, Grafton said most repairs would have to wait until the area was moved to a lower alert level.

“Only critical work should be face-to-face at Level 4, with insurers taking all necessary steps at any level to ensure work is done in a way that limits or eliminates the risk of spreading Covid-19 being taken,” he said.

An MBIE spokesman said there were easily accessible guidelines for the type of work that could be carried out, and it was businesses’ responsibility to make sure they complied.

The spokesman said the ministry had provided businesses an example of repairing damage to a building that prevented the occupants from having a dry, warm environment.