5 Dec 2020

Families still in emergency accommodation following flooding

8:05 pm on 5 December 2020

Two families remain in emergency accommodation after devastating flooding in the Wellington region earlier this week.

Floods in Plimmerton, Porirua

Photo: Supplied / Jane Mather

In Plimmerton and Whitby 17 homes are uninhabitable after heavy rain and high tides flooded houses, and slips damaged properties.

Jerry Wrenn from Porirua City Council said 20 truckloads of mud and debris, and 70 of flood-damaged household goods have been carted off during this week's cleanup.

He said two evacuated families were being put up in hotels in Porirua and Hutt Valley - and it was looking likely they would eventually be able to return home.

"I'm pretty sure most of them will be habitable again.

"Residents are just in the process of cleaning up, taking out the carpet and drying things out, and they'll be working closely with their insurance companies to get that sorted."

Other families have been able to arrange their own accommodation.

Wrenn said council teams have done 105 needs assessments.

He said climate change means these types of extreme weather events were happening more often.

The city also has ageing infrastructure, and the council was proposing more than doubling water infrastructure investment to $800 million dollars in the next long-term plan, Wrenn said.

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