“We’re so grateful we reached out”. Storm-affected homeowner urges those in similar situations to reach out for the support that’s available.
When facing hardship, New Zealanders have a tendency to revert to ‘stoic’ mode, often thinking there’s someone else worse off than they are. That was the outlook held by Blockhouse Bay father of four, Russell Pedersen, when his family were impacted by the severe weather events of last year.
On 27 January 2023, Russell was at home with his wife and children when they started to notice the creek behind their property was overflowing. As the heavy rain continued, it wasn’t long before water started seeping into their West Auckland property.
The family did their best to mop up the water and move furniture out of the way, but their efforts were in vain. The usually timid creek soon became a raging torrent.
“The water came rushing through. We were trying to rescue what we could and tie down what we couldn’t. It came up quite quickly and the water was very powerful”, remembers Russell.
The water rose to an alarming height of 1.1 metres inside. When power points became submerged, Russell turned their power off, leaving the family to wait upstairs in the dark until the rain stopped.
When the water eventually cleared, the bottom of their house was left unliveable. “The stairs had collapsed in, so we couldn’t get downstairs easily”, notes Russell. “We lost a lot”.
The whole family moved into the upstairs space, with the eldest child (15), having to sleep on a mattress on the floor.
After clearing out as much as they could, they then flooded again in Cyclone Gabrielle. That’s when Russell realised this wasn’t going to be a ‘one-off’ event. With growing climate uncertainty, homes in high-risk areas are now in greater danger of flooding from severe weather events.
Navigating the unknown
It was a difficult time for the family, as they tried to figure out what to do next. They’d only recently completed renovating their home and had been considering moving to somewhere with more space for their whānau.
Russell proactively reached out to Auckland Council. Then after hearing that the council could buy-out homes with intolerable risk to life, they registered for categorisation.
“It was an emotionally draining time, waiting for the policy to be put in place, then for a category decision” recalls Russell. “It became quite a long painful process, of waiting and waiting and waiting”.
That’s when his neighbour suggested that they should get a Storm Recovery Navigator, who help storm-impacted whānau get back on their feet with much-needed practical support and advice. Russell was unaware of the council’s Storm Recovery Navigation Service, but signed up and was soon allocated a navigator.
A sigh of relief
“I’m so grateful we reached out, the support we’ve received has been great”, says Russell, who’s received support from two navigators, Jim Henderson and Janine Godfrey.
Unable to afford other accommodation and still waiting for their insurance payout, Jim provided Russell’s family with grocery vouchers. They also received free counselling sessions, which helped Russell with the sleepless nights and stress he felt whenever it started raining.
“As someone who always said they’d never do counselling, I’d recommend it”, says Russell. “Even a couple of sessions helps”.
More recently, Janine visited Russell’s family at home to identify their specific needs. During the visit Janine noticed a storm-damaged caravan in the driveway, being used for storage. Thanks to the Moments that Matter fund from New Zealand Red Cross, they’ve been able to stabilise the caravan and hire a separate storage unit. Now the caravan is free to act as a temporary bedroom for the eldest son – giving him his own space, instead of a mattress on the floor.
“It’s nice that they see what we’re going through”, says Russell, who appreciates the navigators providing hands-on support.
Heading out of the unknown
In April 2024 Russell finally received the call telling him their property was Category 3. Even though this was the outcome they wanted, there is still a long road ahead as they move into the buy-out process. Russell and his family will continue to live in their storm-damaged home until the buy-out is complete.
It’s heart-breaking for the family of six to part with their home of 10 years under these circumstances. But Russell reiterates he’s grateful for the council’s scheme, which is designed to remove people from homes where there is intolerable risk to life from future severe weather events.
In particular, Russell appreciates the support his family have received from the Storm Recovery Navigation Service.
“It’s important that people know it’s ok to ask for help and it’s ok to take advantage of what’s on offer. Some people feel that there are people worse off than them, and think they need to be strong and muscle through it. But actually, we also needed help and support”.
If you need wellbeing support
“Recovery looks different to everyone, and each whānau has different needs” says Jim, Russell’s storm recovery navigator. “That’s why it’s important that we’re on the ground, working closely with storm-impacted Aucklanders to understand their situation and the support they need.”
Regardless of where you and your whānau are in your recovery journey, if you are still struggling from the effects of the 2023 weather events – help is available to you.
If you are living in a storm-damaged home and are concerned about the wellbeing of your whānau this winter, please get in touch with our Storm Recovery Navigation Service.
