Editorial: No one knows when disaster will strike us

Craig Cooper.

Images of homes falling into the ocean in Australia will resonate with many Northlanders.

At first glance, it seems implausible that some of these waterfront homes were built so close to erosion and flood prone cliff faces.

The photograph of a swimming pool that had slid down a cliff face demonstrates how close these million-dollar homes were to disaster.

But as many have said, this was a freak event: an "east coast superstorm".

Amongst Mother Nature's diverse bag of tricks is a ticking time bomb, no one knows when it will blow.

We can plan though, and that's why Northland homes were identified by the Northland Regional Council recently as being susceptible to future flooding as our climate changes.

That's why updated earthquake regulations saw many Northland homes have their district council records tagged "erosion prone".

I recently discovered that if there is a natural disaster on a property we are about to buy, the excess is $5000.

And it is not a coastal property.

It is in Whau Valley, in a street bordered by the Waiorohia Stream.

Many properties on the stream side of the street are tagged as being prone to erosion and flooding.

An independent engineers' report I found acknowledges it is a generic reference to the area, and helpfully suggests this may take place in the next 100 years.

All of which caused our insurance company to take extra interest in our new home.

As they should. Because in some ways, what has happened in Sydney and other parts of Australia has helped me come to terms with having to pay a $5000 excess if our new home slides down a bank into the Waiorohia Stream.

I don't think it ever will. But if it does, I shouldn't be too surprised because I have been warned. Our soon-home-to-be is built in an erosion and flood prone area, a risk I am prepared to take.

Hopefully though, such an occurrence never happens, and if it does, it's still 100 years away.