Tauranga flooding: Tauriko family’s belongings, car left ‘submerged’

Clothes, bedding, furniture and a car have been left “submerged” at a Tauriko property after heavy rain lashed the region over the weekend.

Tauranga mother Linda Candy was in Auckland with her 15-year-old son Seth preparing to donate a kidney to him in a life-saving procedure when her property flooded in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Linda’s friend Andrew was looking after her two younger children Ethan, 12, and Sapphire 11, and their dog when it flooded.

Andrew, who did not want his surname published for privacy reasons, said everything in the house was a “write-off”.

Just before midnight on Friday, he started to see a bit of flooding on the section. He kept an eye on it but it got “worse and worse”.

“At about 1am, it was turning into a lake.”

He continued monitoring it and around 5.30am, he woke the kids up, grabbed some clothes and left.

“As we left the property - I’m six feet tall - it was up to my thighs. It almost hit waist [deep] as we exited the front floor.”

They walked up the hill to another house where they knew the residents.

“We were cold and wet and pretty miserable at that stage.”

At about 6.30am, Andrew looked back at the house and the water had “come up another foot” and it was “completely flowing through the house”.

Andrew said Fire and Emergency services organised a boat to get them. Ambulance staff checked the kids who were fine, he said.

“And then [they] chucked us in a car and brought us to my rental in Greerton. And that’s where we’ve been since.”

Andrew said everything in the house below four-and-a-half feet was a “complete write-off”.

“The speed was just alarming. The whole thing was just surreal.”

Candy said Andrew had been trying to get a hold of her while she was in Auckland.

“He said it just happened so fast... I just feel so helpless because I’m not there.”

Candy said Andrew told her everything in the house had been “submerged”.

“The lawnmower was swimming.”

Candy said she had been renting the house for nearly two years.

“I spent ages on that house making it nice [and] homely. When I first moved in there, it was so overgrown.

“I did the gardens, kept mowing my lawns.”

She and Seth were planning to return to Tauranga today and she had reached out to a friend asking if they could stay with them.

She has also contacted her landlord who advised her the damage will be assessed today.

Seth’s cat Dodge was still missing, who she described as “smokey-coloured,” fluffy and small.

Linda Candy with her 15-year-old son Seth. Photo / Supplied

When the flooding occurred, Candy was at Starship Hospital in Auckland with her son Seth, as he is preparing to undergo a kidney transplant.

“Seth got an infection and his body couldn’t fight it and then it targeted his kidneys,” she said.

Candy did six months of testing to see if she was compatible.

“We’re a perfect match - I cried my eyes out because all you want to do is be able to help your boy.”

The procedure would hopefully take place in April, she said.

Candy said she did not have insurance. A Givealittle page has been set up for her family.