More than 3000 injury claims from this year’s storms - ACC data

Cyclone Gabrielle caused major damage to property and there have also been 1720 people who have made injury claims to ACC as a result of the cyclone. Photo: RNZ/ Tess Brunton

There are more than 3000 injury claims from this year’s severe storms, according to the latest figures from ACC.

The number comes from ACC data for anyone who has made a claim for injury treatment connected with Cyclone Gabrielle or the January floods.

It was the first big picture look at the injury toll which came alongside the loss of life and the massive damage to property and the environment.

There were 1720 injury claims for Cyclone Gabrielle, which had a devastating impact on the East Coast of the North Island in February but also caused severe damage in other areas, including Auckland’s west coast beaches.

There were 1313 for the flooding at the end of January that had the widest impact in Auckland but also in Whangārei and other parts of the North Island.

The data did not show how serious individual injuries were, however each warranted some kind of medical treatment.

Some people may have had multiple injuries but the data referred to each person’s main - or primary - complaint.

The vast majority of primary injuries - about 2300 - were to soft tissue - such as muscles and tendons, next was cuts, punctures or stings, at just over 400.

As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, 22 people were injured by a foreign object in an orifice or eye.

Twelve people across both storms sought treatment for concussion as their main injury, while 84 broke bones.

For both events, backs, upper and lower, were the most common part of the body which was hurt, making up just under half of all claims.

Forty-seven children under 15, and 118 people over 80 made claims.

ACC cautioned there were limitations to the data - it relied on people having recorded a connection to the storms when filling out their ACC form and there may be some claims yet to come.

- RNZ