Aucklanders asked to 'avoid unnecessary travel' over Waitangi Weekend

Friday, 3 February 2023

Moist northerlies continue over Aotearoa, bringing heavy rain to parts of both islands. Heavy rain warnings are in force for Westland and Western Bay of Plenty.

One week after torrential rain left four dead and homes around Auckland destroyed, Tāmaki Makaurau is still in the “discovery” phase of its response to the flooding, according to officials.

Speaking at 3pm on Friday afternoon, Auckland Emergency Management urged travellers to “please avoid unnecessary travel” as the long weekend begins.

Meanwhile, Auckland Council is warning that an event like this “will happen again”.

In the weeks to come, they will consider whether red zones of the kind instituted in Christchurch after the earthquake will be needed for “high-risk” areas.

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‘Plan ahead’

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has extended the local state of emergency a further seven days.

Auckland Emergency Management deputy controller Rachel Kelleher asked that Aucklanders “plan ahead” and remain vigilant when going for driving around or going for walks in Tāmaki Makaurau over the weekend.

“Floods and flash floods can happen quickly, as we’ve seen.

“Please act immediately if you see rising water – don’t wait for official warnings to head to higher ground,” she said.

If there is immediate risk to life, Kelleher reminded all Aucklanders to call 111 immediately.

Rain was still falling in Auckland on Friday morning.

Extended state of emergency ‘necessary’

Earlier on Friday, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced that the state state of emergency in the city was to be extended for a further seven days.

He acknowledged that he had “dropped the ball” in his response to Auckland’s flooding last Friday.

Kelleher said this extension was “necessary” given the “scale and widespread nature of the emergency” across Tāmaki Makaurau.

It will enable access to emergency powers and streamline work with partner agencies, she said.

In less than a week, 1867 vehicles have been towed because of water damage.

‘This will happen again’

Auckland Council’s head of planning for healthy waters Nick Vigar warned residents to brace for the potential of future floods.

“This will happen again. What we call a 10-year event might become yearly.

29 roads across the Auckland region are still closed, while more than 60 roads have been reopened since last Friday.

”An event of this magnitude causes us to rethink everything,” he said.

He warned Aucklanders should consider ways of minimising the chance of damage to their properties in the event of floods.

This included removing debris that might be in the way of overland flood paths, not using basement levels as habitable floors or as storage, and not carpeting basement levels. A full list of recommendations can be found on Auckland Council’s website.

Red zones ‘need to be considered’

Head of strategy for healthy waters Andrew Chin stepped in to answer questions about whether red zones or “managed retreats” – of the kind seen in Christchurch 2011 earthquake – need to be considered.

“It’s too early to say which areas might need [the red zone] tool, but it needs to be considered.

“For very high-risk areas it needs to be on the table,” Chin said.

The clean-up

Since the clean-up across the city began, more than 500 tonnes of flood affected waste has been disposed of.

On Friday alone, more than 4000 building assessments across Auckland had taken place. A total of 232 properties had been red-stickered, and a further 1294 yellow stickers had been issued.

Additional defence personnel will be arriving in Auckland to help with waste disposal, she said – but a date is yet to be confirmed.

Auckland Emergency Management is still determining how many slips have happened around Tāmaki Makaurau.

Auckland Transport officer Stacey van der Putten added that 29 roads across the region remain closed to slips, while more than 60 roads had reopened since the flooding began last Friday.

In total, 1867 vehicles had been towed because of water damage – 47 on Friday, with a further 569 still to be moved.

A complete list of road closures can be found on the Auckland Transport website.