About 40 Wellington addresses have been declared uninhabitable following the intense storms and flooding that battered the city early last week, RNZ News reports.
Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean told RNZ that three homes near the suburb of Vogelmorn had been issued with dangerous building notices due to slip damage. The Wellington City Mission, working with the council, is assisting around 40 families or individuals with temporary accommodation at motels and backpackers in the wake of the storm, and is also the contact point for residents seeking access to Emergency Relief funds.
"A lot are being looked after by insurance but we suspect there will be quite a lot of other business and homes [affected]. If people are struggling they should get in touch with the Wellington City Mission," MacLean told RNZ.
His comments point to a substantial volume of residential and commercial claims still working their way through the system, with hard-hit streets such as Emerson Street suggesting the impact extends across both home and business books.
Council figures reported by RNZ underline the scale of the clean-up. Between 500 and 700 one-tonne flood waste bags have been distributed across the city, and the free collection service for the bags and larger items is likely to continue into next week. Nearly 30 tonnes of waste has already been transported from the temporarily reopened Maranui Depot landfill in Lyall Bay to the Southern Landfill, while "many truckloads" of larger items — including flood-damaged beds and whiteware — are being collected from affected suburbs.
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"It will take quite a few days to get through the stuff that's left on the road side. In places like Emerson Street — which was hit hard — we've cleaned stuff up from that street but we'll keep coming back," MacLean told RNZ.
The council is now transitioning "from response to recovery", with the city's Emergency Operations Centre remaining open to support the next phase.
