Auckland floods: Some residents in mouldy, damaged homes months after event

Rānui resident Mark Griffin in his flood-damaged home. Photo / RNZ

By Louise Ternouth RNZ

Three months on from the devastating Auckland Anniversary weekend floods, some West Auckland residents are living in destroyed homes and desperate for answers.

On Friday, January 27, a torrent of water came gushing into Mark Griffin’s home in Rānui after the Momutu stream overflowed for the second time in two years.

Almost everything was unsalvagable - coated in silt or water-logged - leaving his home of almost 30 years slapped with a yellow sticker.

Fast forward and little progress has been made. Griffin said the house was now “an empty shell”.

“They’ve stripped it from floor to ceiling and taken all the carpets out, all the walls, everything.”

He was still living in the house, sleeping in a draughty, uninsulated makeshift bedroom.

His wife and daughter were living in a rental caravan outside, while his other two children were staying with family and friends.

“We see each other every couple of weekends. My middle daughter’s not doing the best with it, none of them are really.”

They had been gifted some furniture and bought a few appliances, but it was hardly a home.

Mark Griffin's flood-damaged Rānui home. Photo / RNZ

“I’m definitely over it. I would like to have something settled, you know, so I don’t have to stress and worry and live out of boxes.”

Their street now resembles a ghost town with red and yellow stickers in most windows.

Many residents are staying elsewhere until they get answers.

Three categories have now been announced for properties affected by the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.

But it could still be a while before homes are assessed, and high-risk houses would take longer.

Griffin said the only option for them was managed retreat, but until they had been assessed they were in limbo.

“I don’t want the stress of it raining and having to go through it all again - it’s just such a drama.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”

In Titirangi, Rob Gaston and his wife Mila are living in their yellow-stickered home.

Rob Gaston's yellow-stickered Titirangi home. Photo / RNZ

On the night of the floods, a huge slip came down on their home, bringing several large trees with it.

One smashed into an upstairs bedroom and through their roof, also killing their two cats.

The tree is now gone, but there remains a huge hole where it came through - covered by a simple tarpaulin.

“The floor has gone - it’s come off its foundations in this corner, all the structural wall has gone ... the windows have gone, the roof trusses have gone.”

The stench of mould lingered upstairs and with winter fast approaching the elderly couple were starting to deal with rats.

Rob Gaston's yellow-stickered Titirangi property. Photo / RNZ

Their master bedroom was out of action with large cracks in the walls.

As Rob is almost blind, they wanted to stay where he was familiar, now only able to use a fraction of their home.

“We had four bedrooms and now we’ve only got one.”

The earth from the slip desperately needed to be cleared. Rob had recently put his back out from carting wheelbarrows of clay himself.

The couple are waiting on a cost assessment from EQC but they have been told that would not be until the end of the year.