Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Tauanu'u Nanai Nick Bakulich was astounded last week to discover that although three sites around the city were being set up for people to fill sandbags, none of them were in South Auckland.
Yet the Māngere ward had been one of the hardest hit areas in the floods two weeks ago.
So, the night before the drops were to be made as chair of the local board, Bakulich and city councillor Alf Fillipaina made a number of phone calls asking why there wasn’t a dropoff location for the south, in particular the Māngere ward.
That worked and Māngere got sand for two days in a row bags were also available. Some bags were also supplied.
But Bakulich says while they could have done with a bit more sand they were glad to help “not just our own community but also surrounding areas which included Onehunga and Ōtara and Papatoetoe”.
Māngere's call for sandbags finally gets answered.
“We appreciate the assistance but we are also very aware that there are other parts of Auckland that needed to access a material that was limited but I am glad we got on the list because there were some very nervous families around the Tatarata stream and also Māngere Central who were hit hard by the floods two weeks ago.”
Grateful to local groups
Bakulich says there were nowhere near enough bags.
“Luckily in Māngere we have a number of social services that have been active.
And they rallied very quickly after the first event. It only took six hours essentially to tap into our community networks. The agencies and organisations responded immediately, which continues today where local volunteer agencies come to the fore.”
He is still puzzled as to why South Auckland wasn’t on the list despite an "explanation".
Rising waters
“All I can say is it was an explanation I wasn’t entirely happy about and again it required some very strong advocacy from the local board and from our local councillor. As to why we were not on that list, that is something Auckland Emergency Management needs to answer.”
Bakulich has been keeping busy during the latest event.
“Last night we had a situation with one of our local creeks, Tararati, where the levels were rising very quickly. There was a big concern, which was raised with us and so started door-knocking with another board member in that area, advising residents of the situation and telling them if they needed to evacuate they could go to the Moana-Nui-a-Kiwi centre. That facility was available if people required shelter and a place to stay for the night but to essentially keep an eye out in case of flooding.
He is now telling people who need help in Māngere and the surrounding areas to go to the Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Centre, which is a 24-hour civil defence centre.
“There have also been other centres set up over the past 48 hours in Ōtara and Manurewa and Papakura. If people need access to others, then go to the Emergency Management Centre website and social media forums.”