Wairoa houses assessed for cyclone damage

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Places in Wairoa damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle have been assessed into three risk categories.

Next week, the Wairoa District Council and recovery team will engage with property owners directly to share information around which category their property falls into.

The three categories are Category 1 Repair (low risk), Category 2 (managed risk) and Category 3 Move (high risk).

This category assessment has been done in collaboration with local councils, the insurance industry, the financial sector and central government.

Properties identified as Category 1 are low risk and can be repaired.

These are homes in an area that can be fixed, and owners can get moving to get the work done.

They can be repaired to their previous state.

These properties may have minor flood damage. For example, they may require minor repair but don’t require significant redesign.

If people don’t think their property should be in Category 1, they are advised to speak to the district council, and get involved in the conversations happening in the community.

Properties identified as Category 2 need community or property level interventions to manage future risk.  This is the broadest category, and the solutions are not simple, a Wairoa District Council statement says.  More information and investigation are needed to understand what risk mitigation measures might be needed in the community, and at a specific property level.

Properties identified to be Category 3 are high-risk and “people need to move”.

These homes are not safe to live in because of the unacceptable risk of future flooding and loss of life, the council says.

Homes should not be rebuilt on their current sites and land can no longer be used for residential property.

“Future severe weather events cannot be sufficiently mitigated,” the statement said.

“Some land may be fine to use while other land may present risks of injury or death in the event of severe weather.

“Locally, engagement will be face-to-face in communities and by email or letter. Discussions will be locally led to ensure a strong connection to the community is maintained.

“The questions and scenarios that come out of the engagement will be fed back into the decisions and future support packages made by local and central government.”