Cyclone-affected homeowners learn on Thursday if they can rebuild

Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Residents of Esk Valley, pictured, will soon know if they will be able to return to their properties.

Hundreds of Hawke’s Bay residents who’ve spent the past three and a half months out of their cyclone-wrecked homes will soon learn if they will ever be able to rebuild or return.

These people, from various parts of the region, will learn on Thursday what sort of ‘risk category’ their property now sits in.

So far affected they have only been informed of the three types of ‘risk categories’, but not which properties will fall into each category.

The categories vary from Low Risk, where homes can be rebuilt on the same site to High Risk, where no rebuilding should occur.

Katrina and John Harris' Esk Valley doggy daycare and kennels were destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle, along with the family home.

* Insurance claims from Cyclone Gabrielle and Auckland flooding hit $890 million

* Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson says 'high-risk' areas to be designated in coming month

Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson said there would be ongoing discussions with affected homeowners after Thursday’s announcement. (File photo)

A statement issued by all the region’s councils this week said assessments of affected properties would be completed by Wednesday (May 31) and residents would be informed directly the following day (June 1) which category their property fell in.

The assessments involved the use of data from a range of sources, including the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, the Ministry for the Environment, and claims data from insurance companies.

'For those with properties located in Category 2 or 3 areas, these initial assessments will only be the start of the decision-making process, with an engagement process with impacted communities expected to commence by mid-June,' the statement said.

Thursday will mark the 108th day since Cyclone Gabrielle killed 11 people and displaced thousands.

After the storm, Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson stressed that the government would not draw out the process of declaring ‘red zones’ as was done following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, where it took four months (or 122 days).

On Monday, Robertson said “these aren’t easy issues”.

“We’re dealing with stuff that is very determinative to the future of individuals and families but also for the councils themselves. There is plenty of work to do but the exercise we wanted to go through was making sure we had a commonly understood risk assessment which we could then explain to people,” he said.

“Of course there will be ongoing discussions from there with individual homeowners,” Robertson said.

National Emergency Management Agency said the announcement would involve councils having plans to engage directly with affected communities.

“This round of engagement will be led locally but is an opportunity for councils to share current thinking on categories, understand the support available to those affected, and will also provide an opportunity for people to raise issues and provide feedback to central government. Officials will then work on those issues and as necessary government will consider changes to the support that will be available,” the agency said on its website.