Auckland Council and Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board staff are working alongside Kāinga Ora - the largest housing owner in the area - to meet the needs of families hit by flooding.
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board chair Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich says Kāinga Ora owns more than 4000 homes in Māngere.
“These are the homes of valuable members of our community, and Kāinga Ora is prioritising homes that were flooded because there’s a heightened risk from contaminated water.
“We’ve had a briefing and officials say homes where the roof leaked, garage flooded or trees came down are being managed through the normal maintenance and repairs process. Anyone who has issues can report them on 0800 801 601.”
About 200 homes were initially reported as flood-damaged and Kāinga Ora is working through offering about 110 families new homes to permanently move to.
“These are whānau whose homes are unsafe, vulnerable residents and people who can’t stay in their homes while repairs take place,” Bakulich says. “A few days of recent sunshine does not take away the stress and trauma our people are going through.”
Rent refunds have been applied to customers whose homes were damaged and will continue until they can be rehoused permanently or have their current homes repaired.
“Given the damage, there’s no quick fix,” Bakulich says. “It’s going to take months to repair the homes. Kāinga Ora is talking to residents about what a plan might look like, and what support they might need now and during the repairs.”
He says Kāinga Ora is also working with Healthy Waters on storm water catchment plans for Māngere.
Those plans consider the physical solutions that need to be put in place, and existing measures in areas such as Te Ararata stream, which worked as intended during the flooding.
“We know recent events were bigger than what the city had planned for,” Bakulich says. “But it’s also clear flooding would have hit more homes if measures weren’t in place.
“It’s wrong to say new housing caused the flooding. One redevelopment outcome is ensuring effective storm water solutions for all Māngere, not just on redevelopment sites.”
Mangere is a 20-year programme that is currently only in its fourth year. “That means storm water solutions have not been delivered yet. In Mt Roskill and Northcote, where they have been, the interventions worked well.”
- Customers can contact their local office team by calling in at 4 Waddon Place or by using the 0800 801 601 24/7 customer service centre number.
Stay connected
Want to stay up to date with all the latest news from your area? Sign up for our Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board E-news and get it delivered to your inbox each month.
