'No one came for me': Elderly woman left alone in the dark as floodwaters rose

Thursday, 9 February 2023

A flood has hit Auckland for the second time in days, with houses and streets underwater. (Video February 2023)

As night fell and floodwater “swirled” through her home on Friday, January 27, 76-year-old Genevieve Johnson sat, cold and wet, in her armchair – and waited.

Johnson lives in one of four units at the bottom of a village-like complex in Auckland’s Mt Eden, and watched as water levels rose around her. Meanwhile, her three neighbours were evacuated by loved ones.

“First, Rodd’s son came and got him. Rodd’s in his 90s, so his son had to carry him out.

“Then Valerie’s daughter came for her. Then Maria’s daughter came for her. But no one came for me,” Johnson said, speaking more than a week after torrential rain destroyed her home and everything in it.

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Elsewhere in Auckland on January 27, families had to leave their homes with only what they could carry.

Although Johnson has a son, he lives in Australia. Her two brothers are also elderly and both have prostate cancer, so were unable to help her.

As the water rose over her neighbour’s fence and “rushed” towards her, Johnson knew she couldn’t wade through it because of her mobility issues.

“It just all happened so fast. I didn’t know what to do – it was so scary.

Emergency services helped residents evacuate their homes across the Auckland region.

“In the end, I just sat in my La-Z-Boy chair. My whole mind had gone, I gave up. I was probably there for about three-quarters of an hour.”

As darkness crept in, Johnson was cold, wet and alone.

“But then I saw a torch shining into the window. I shone a torch back.”

Two police officers had come to help her evacuate.

With the help of the two officers, Johnson was able to get to a unit higher up in the complex, where she then stayed for nine nights in a one bedroom property with a 94-year-old woman.

Johnson is now staying with a friend in Māngere, where she’ll remain until she can fly on to join her son in Australia.

”I need stability. I need to get out of here.

Less than five days after the initial rainstorm struck Auckland, residents were hit with more rain.

“If – when – my house is fixed, I’ll come back. But I’ll be coming back to nothing,” she said.

Although her house was initially red-stickered by the council, it has since been downgraded to a yellow sticker, which means that despite not posing a significant risk to health or life, access remains restricted.

“Everything in there is totally saturated. What’s not gone is starting to rot now, but I can’t go back in to clear it out.

“It’s been horrendous. I’m so drained. All I can do is one thing after the other, and put one foot in front of the other,” she said.

Johnson has tried calling the 0800 numbers she’s seen on TV, but has struggled to navigate the system.

“There are all of these phone numbers, but you call them and they either leave you on hold for hours on end or give you other numbers to call. It’s too much for me.

“It’s not the people’s fault at the end of the line, but the bottom line is there’s nowhere for me to go. I’m homeless.”

For Age Concern Auckland chief executive Kevin Lamb, Johnson’s story is just one of many that show how ill-prepared society is to support the most vulnerable in times of crisis.

“Coming off the back of three years of Covid-19, we’re seeing a lot of older people experiencing a lot of fear and anxiety.

“Sadly, we’re being inundated with calls from older people who can’t see a future beyond this,” Lamb said.

When approached by Stuff about cases like Johnson’s, Auckland Emergency Management said there are a “range of support services available”.

These include the Council’s 0800 22 22 00 number, or the Ministry of Social Development on 0800 400 100, or Healthline (if relevant) on 0800 611 116.

“Any of the above numbers can be accessed to provide sensitive and specialist services to vulnerable members of our community,” a spokesperson for Auckland Emergency Management said.