Three years on from the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office is moving towards closure on 30 June 2026 and transitioning ongoing recovery activities to longer-term delivery teams within the council.
Over the past three years, recovery has reached into every part the region. For impacted Aucklanders recovery has gone far beyond repairing damage. They have had to make difficult decisions about whether to rebuild, relocate, or adapt homes to reduce their future risk.
More than 3,000 homes were assessed by the council for future risk, and over 1,150 households have been supported to move away from the highest-risk homes or received grants to change their property to make it safe for them to stay.
“Auckland’s recovery has had a strong focus on making sure we are better off the next time our region is battered by storms,” says Group Recovery Manager Mace Ward.
“That focus has shaped decisions about homes, infrastructure, emergency readiness and how we partner with communities to ensure Aucklanders are better prepared and equipped to recover from another disaster.”
Wider programmes of significant investment have also restored damaged roads, water services, community facilities and public spaces, while new flood resilience projects are reducing risk for entire neighbourhoods.
Mace Ward, Group Recovery Manager
Transitioning the 2023 recovery programme
The 2023 recovery programme is now moving into a planned transition phase.
“Much of the urgent recovery work is now complete or well advanced. We’re now at the tail end and it makes sense to start embedding longer-term activities into council’s ongoing work”, Ward says.
The completion of Category 2P construction projects to reduce risk at individual properties will continue through 2027, and the final Category 3 buy-outs are expected to be settled by June. A new recovery team within Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) will manage the completion of this activity.
The programme to remove the homes will be ongoing through 2027, however decisions about future uses for the properties will take several years. Around 1,200 Category 3 properties will remain under council ownership while long-term land use decisions are worked through by the council’s Property department.
Auckland Transport and Watercare are nearing completion of the transport and wastewater recovery programmes, while three flood-resilience projects in Māngere and Pukekohe will be completed this year and will reduce flood risk for whole communities.
Larger flood reduction projects in Wairau and Rānui will continue in stages for several years. At the same time, locally led recovery work is continuing at a pace set by each community, with tangible activities borne out of community aspirations is bringing to life what “long-term recovery and resilience” looks like for them.
Storm Recovery and Restore Hibiscus & Bays at a Safer Communities Event
Preparing for the future
In a pivotal step, a new future-focused recovery function is being established within Auckland Emergency Management (AEM), with a team able to activate for smaller events and scale up for larger ones. In addition a small interim Community and Social Recovery team to help shape these elements of council's long-term recovery approach. It reflects both the challenge of starting recovery from scratch, and the expectation that recovery support will continue to be needed in the future.
Group Recovery Manager, Mace Ward, says recovery on this scale always takes time, but the foundations laid over the past three years have put Tāmaki Makaurau in a stronger position for the future.
“As we have been reminded recently, this won’t be the last large-scale recovery the city faces. So moving from a recovery focus to a future resilience focus is the essential next step,” Mr Ward explains.
“That includes making sure the lessons from 2023 are carried forward into everyday decision-making. This will help Auckland recover better when the next major event happens.”
Looking for 2023 storm recovery information?
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General recovery information and queries: visit our recovery website with FAQs, or email recoveryoffice@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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Category 3 property maintenance: log an issue via our Report a Problem tool
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Category 3 interim and future land use decisions: suggest a use via our future land use webpage or email stormaffectedland@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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Community recovery: communitysocialrecovery@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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General stormwater queries: email hwcustomerandcommunity@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz