A State of Emergency was declared on Friday January 27 to deal with severe flooding in Auckland and the Waitomo region, after torrential rain caused havoc, damage and four people lost their lives.
The extreme weather event has impacted people’s homes, businesses and core infrastructure and led to road closures across the region.
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said the first port of call for Aucklanders waking to flooded and damaged properties should be to their insurance companies.
In response to this call Tourism Industry Aotearoa has compiled the following information for the hospitality industry as it navigates through the State of Emergency.
Jump to:
Where to find essential information
Information for travellers
Insurance advice
Employment advice
Banks offering to help
Civil Defence Payments
Mayoral Relief Fund
We’re here to help
Where to find essential information
Civil Defence
Check the Civil Defence website for key updates and storm planning advice.
Far North
The Far North District Council website is sharing weather event updates for the region.
Northland
The Northland Regional Council website is sharing weather event updates for the region.
Auckland
Auckland Emergency Management is providing regular updates on their website.
Auckland Council is providing updates and information on their website:
- To report flooding or damage, contact them online – Report A Problem.
- For up-to-date information and advice, visit Our Auckland.
- For information on disruptions to sites and facilities, visit Facility Closures.
Thames-Coromandel
The Thames Coromandel District Council website is sharing key information including heavy rain watch areas and road closures.
Bay of Plenty
Tauranga City Council is sharing weather event updates on its Facebook page.
Waitomo
The Waitomo District Council website is sharing key information including Civil Defence updates.
Information for travellers
Domestic and international flights may be disrupted. Travellers should get in touch with their airline or check their airline travel app for the latest information and any impact on travel plans.
Air New Zealand’s advice for customers booked to travel:
- The Air New Zealand app and the arrivals and departures page is the best way for customers to see updated flight information
- Most customers are able to self-serve via the Manage Booking tab on the Air New Zealand website
- Air New Zealand will endeavour to notify and rebook customers to the next best alternative over the next 48 hours
- As the contact centre is experiencing extremely high volumes of calls they ask that only those with travel over the next 24 hours contact them directly.
- The airline’s travel alerts page has the most up to date information on operating flights -the contact centre team do not have any more information than this
- If you are travelling out of Auckland, please do not travel to the airport until you receive an update that your flight is going ahead.
Customers who booked through a travel agent or third-party online agent should contact them directly about making changes to their bookings or credit validity.
Insurance advice
The unprecedented weather over recent days has resulted in widespread damage and disruption. If you have been affected, be assured TIA’s Strategic Partner Marsh has an emergency response team responding to all claims inquiries.
In the first instance please contact your broker if you need to make an insurance claim.
Due to the extent of the disaster, there will be delays in getting insurance Loss Adjusters to inspect damaged property. If your property has been damaged, take all reasonable steps to mitigate the damage and secure your property.
This is a major event and resources will be stretched with insurance providers, emergency services, trades and utility services.
Please take direction from emergency services and local authorities.
Do not put yourself or others at further risk unnecessarily. Flood water can be contaminated and the use of gloves and masks is advisable whenever possible and try not to wade through flood waters.
You should consider each of the following and act when it is safe to do so:
- Turn off power at the mains, and have an electrician check the power supply before turning it back on.
- Record flood levels by marking the maximum height of the floodwater in every room and take photographs
- If you need to move plant/equipment outside to help with the clean-up, make sure it’s protected from further damage until a Loss Adjuster has had opportunity to assess it.
- Clean up as much as you can to prevent further damage, and until the insurers have had a chance to assess your claim, only dispose of spoiled food or consumables perished in the flood.
- If you can, make a note of every perishable or produce unfit for human consumption item you throw away and take photos of it beforehand.
- Other than perishables, all other items should be stored onsite so the Loss Adjuster can inspect these.
- When it’s safe, check your property thoroughly for any damage, record the damage, and take photos or video to help support your insurance claim.
- If you have broken windows, board them up with plywood or cardboard, if you can, to help prevent further weather damage. This will help keep them intact until they can be secured properly by a qualified repairer.
- For urgent roof repairs, contact a qualified tradesperson to undertake work to avoid further damage to your building. Don’t attempt to fix things yourself if it’s not safe to do so.
- If repairs can’t wait, take photos, get a detailed quotation from a qualified tradesperson,
- Remember to keep all relevant receipts.
If any TIA members are particularly vulnerable or in need of urgent support (and regardless of being a Marsh client or not), please contact George Byrne on George.Byrne@marsh.com.
Employment advice
During and after a disaster or emergency, employers and employees need to consider issues such as health and safety, emotional wellbeing and payment options.
If emergency situations aren’t covered in workers’ employment agreements, they may need to talk with their employees about the situation in good faith.
Check the Employment New Zealand website to find out more, including pay and leave if an employee is not working after a natural disaster or emergency.
Banks have offered to help – contact yours directly if not listed below
Westpac
TIA’s Strategic Partner Westpac has announced it is offering the suspension of principal payments for up to three months on home loans and business loans, deferred payment on business credit cards for up to three months and a temporary overdraft for business customers.
Westpac customers in Auckland needing support should call the contact centre on 0800 400 600. More information here.
ASB
ASB is available to support customers who may require emergency financial assistance as a result of the recent weather events. Emergency assistance can be offered to business customers on a case-by-case basis. This includes access to working capital of up to $100,000 for eligible ASB business and rural customers.
Customers seeking help can call 0800 803 804.
BNZ
BNZ has offered a package to customers and businesses. Customers affected by floods can get their mortgage reviewed on a case-by-case basis and access temporary personal overdrafts for urgent funds before insurance pay-outs.
Business customers may also be able to access temporary overdrafts of up to $100,000 with no application fee. Temporary overdrafts of up to $10,000 with no application fee for small business customers are also available to BNZ customers.
Business customers should contact their BNZ Partner directly, Small Business customers can call 0800 BNZSME and all other customers can use BNZ digital services or call 0800 ASKBNZ.
Civil Defence Payments
Civil Defence payments have been announced for some Aucklanders affected by the floods.
The Civil Defence website says if people had to leave their home, were staying away from home at the time of the emergency and can’t return, can’t go to work, or need help with food, bedding, or clothing, they may be eligible for the payment.
Mayoral Relief Fund
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty has announced the Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding.
Mayoral Relief Funds help communities bounce back after an emergency. Local communities and councils understand where the immediate needs are and how to help whānau, community organisations and marae.
The Minister says there will be additional funding allocated once they have a better assessment of the full extent of the damage and its cost.
The extreme weather event has impacted people’s homes, businesses and core infrastructure and led to road closures across the region.
All flights from Auckland Airport were cancelled due to flooding in both the domestic and international terminals and Civil Defence Centres opened, and continue to operate around Auckland for those in urgent need of shelter. Power companies are dealing with widespread outages, particularly in West Auckland, and loss adjusters are currently colour coding properties in order of damage levels.
We’re here to help Look after each other and stay safe. If you need additional support or information, TIA is here to help. For help or advice, please contact:
Acting Advocacy and Engagement Manager Lori Coughtrey – 0210 868 5356 or lori.coughtrey@tia.org.nz
Industry Advocate Di Reid – 027 460 8681 or diane.reid@tia.org.nz
For non-urgent queries and requests, please email info@tia.org.nz and we will respond as soon as possible.
