Risk assessments needed asap

Mayor Rehette Stoltz

Opinion

by Mayor Rehette Stoltz
Minister for Cyclone Recovery Grant Robertson this week set out three separate categories for flood-affected properties to be classified under — low, managed and high risk.
The three categories settled on by the Cyclone Taskforce are:
• Category 1: Low Risk — a repair to the previous state is all that’s needed with no need for significant redesign.
• Category 2: Managed Risk — this has been split into three subsections
2C – Community-level interventions like enhancing flood bank protection could manage future severe weather risk;
2P – A property-level intervention is required – like improved drainage or raising a house;
2A – Properties placed in this category could be in either of the other two, however further assessment is required.
• Category 3: High Risk — This area has been deemed not safe to live in because of an unacceptable risk of future flooding and risk of life. Homes should not be rebuilt in these sites.
It is a welcome announcement as our community wait with bated breath to receive more certainty about the fate of their properties. We are very interested in the Government’s time frames for when properties will be assessed and categorised, and how these new categories align with Council’s initial red and yellow sticker assessments.
The Tairāwhiti Recovery Office is well under way inside Council and is working alongside community partners including the Cyclone Taskforce on our Road to Recovery. There is heaps of information with regards to our recovery on the GDC website — look under the “Tairāwhiti regional recovery” tab on the homepage. We will also be sharing more information with you via the paper in the next while.
The Cyclone Taskforce was set up in March to advise Minister Robertson and to work with insurance companies and local councils. We appreciate Minister Robertson’s sentiment that he and the Cyclone Taskforce want to make the right decisions rather than quick ones, and that one size doesn’t fit all. 
As the Mayor, I am receiving the message loud and clear from our affected residents that they need clarity to move forward and that time is of the essence. The emotional and financial impacts on affected residents are huge. 
We will be asking the Government for clarity around specific time frames. We are mindful of the mental impact this is having on our whānau, particularly for those whose homes and businesses might be assessed as being in categories 2 or 3. My focus over the next few weeks will be to get a clearer indication of dates from the Cyclone Taskforce.
These assessment decisions will have huge impacts on our community — especially for anyone placed in categories 2 or 3, and more so for those who are uninsured.
I am heartened to read in Tuesday night’s update that all communities will be consulted before any final decisions are made at a national level. We understand that those discussions will be after assessments are completed and quality assurance is done. These are big conversations to have with each and every community.
Our people are hurting. We have some communities that are still cut off and others that have a tenuous link to our region because of the possibility of slips and dropouts every time there is heavy rain.
The Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use is due on the 12th of May, and this will also help provide recommendations for our region so we are better prepared, and better placed, for the next severe weather event.
As soon as we receive more guidance on decision-making dates, we will let you know.
Kia kaha team Tairāwhiti. Together we will get there.