King tide flooding leaves Auckland residents cleaning up 'heartbreaking' mess

Friday, 2 February 2018

Residents of Auckland's Maraetai say the damage from ex-cyclone Fehi - the second major storm to smash the area this month - is heartbreaking.

Stormy weather has caused frustration as weak spots in Auckland's infrastructure gave way to flooding for the second time in less than 30 days.

Ex-cyclone Fehi hit Auckland on Thursday, along with a king tide from the 'super blue blood moon', bringing heavy rain and wind causing tidal flooding.

The storm flooded homes in Maraetai, caused commuter chaos with delays of up to three hours near Tamaki Drive, and washed away sand restored by Auckland Council only days before on Orewa beach.

Sarah Baldwin filmed the bulging king tide at Maraetai as it spilled across the road on Thursday.

It also left many Aucklanders wondering whether the city was prepared for further flooding in winter.

**READ MORE:

Flooding struck Auckland's Tamaki Drive on Thursday morning as a king tide hit.

* Sting in the tail for Auckland as passing storm is accompanied by king tide

A king tide coinciding with a storm closed Tamaki Drive in Auckland in early 2018.

* Flooding, heavy rain and severe gales as cyclone remnants move over New Zealand

* Tamaki Drive fails to pass flood test

* Cemetery flooding prompts call for council action**

Claudine Kleb, who runs a house cleaning business near Maraetai, was out helping locals deal with their flooded homes on Friday.

'We had extractors to get out water before we sweep it up and try to dry the house out, we're mopping down walls – we do the best we can and try to salvage whatever we can.'

Ongoing damage to the beloved pier and local businesses was 'heartbreaking' for the close-knit community, she said.

At Orewa beach, some of Auckland Council's hard work restoring sand after the storm in January washed out to sea on Thursday.

However, Auckland Council coastal and geotechnical services team manager Paul Klinac said the majority of sand restored had not been affected by the storm.

AUCKLAND FLOOD DAMAGE PREDICTED DECADE AGO

A study conducted 10 years ago by the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute predicted extensive flood damage for some of Auckland's infrastructure on the back of increasing storms.

The study, compiled by Georgina Hart in 2008, focused on Mission Bay/Kohimarama and Kawakawa Bay – areas repeatedly hit hardest by king tide flooding.

Hart's study said storms would cause traffic disruption, erosion, and long-term damage to the Tamaki Drive sea wall.

Ōrākei ward councillor Desley Simpson said important mitigation work to improve the road was already underway, including adding an overhang edge and raising the road.

'Tamaki Drive will need multi-million dollar investment in the future and we have a responsibility to make sure that happens.'

In 2017, Auckland Transport announced plans to address flooding at low spots along Tamaki Drive from mid-2018.

Simpson said the overhang edge, which would stop water spilling onto the road once waves crashed into it, would be constructed in June.

FIX MARAETAI SOON, RESIDENT SAYS

Maraetai man Kishor Hira said residents in the area were accustomed to the type of stormy weather seen on Thursday.

'It wasn't as bad as last time when there were lots of accidents and lots of trees down and lots of power cuts.'

He thought many people in properties that frequently flooded had already stockpiled sandbags or taken other precautions against flooding.

Kleb said she thought something needed to be done for the area 'very, very soon'.

In times of flooding Maraetai was 'completely cut off', with only one way in and out of the greater Beachlands and Whitford area, she said.

'With every storm we're getting continual flooding. It's really bad,' she said.

Kleb gave a 'big shout-out' to local police who had been 'so helpful' during storms in recent weeks, but said more needed to be done to stop further flooding from occurring.

'What can you do but to beg the government to do something?'