Cyclone Gabrielle: Elderly man’s red-stickered home in Coromandel region falls off elevated foundation

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The slight hope of a 95-year-old man being able to return to his red-stickered home near Thames has been squashed after Cyclone Gabrielle has caused the property to slip off its foundation.

Dennis Raines’ Thornton Bay home was badly damaged after a major slip smashed into the back of it during the deluge at the end of January.

Now, the Raines family have found out that the property was damaged further overnight as Cyclone Gabrielle hit the region.

“We expected that there was a good chance that a lot more of that hillside was going to come down and you know, potentially do a lot more damage and basically make the place irreparable,” said Dennis’ son Clive Raines.

“I didn’t think it would happen this quickly, it would appear that the weight of the additional slide behind it kind of just pushed the whole thing towards the road and straight off the foundations.”

The deck now sits on the ground. Photo / Karl Williams

The front deck, which stood above head height, now sits on the sodden ground beneath the beleaguered home.

The family have since relocated Dennis into temporary accommodation just two kilometres down the road in Te Puru.

Clive said they only recently learnt that this property could be subjected to storm surges and flooding, which is causing even more distress amongst the family.

He said they are in a limbo phase as they wait to hear from insurers on what will happen to the property but he also assumed the property would be written off and demolished now.

“Then of course the other concern is, what’s the payout going to be and is it going to be adequate?,” he said.

“It’s [the house] full of memories and when you’re 95 years old, any kind of change is a big deal.”

Dennis Raines' home in Thornton Bay before it was damaged. Photo / Supplied

In an earlier report, Clive told the Herald that the landslide in January had gone right up against his father’s home and was creaking due to the pressure.

At the time of the slip, Dennis was sleeping and had his hearing aids out.

“He did not hear the slip. It was his Thames handyman who came out to check on him, woke him and alerted authorities,” said Clive.

“We are just eternally grateful that you know he [the handyman] went above and beyond to make a special trip out just to make sure he was okay.”

A major slip smashed into various properties along Thames Coast Rd in Thornton Bay last month. Photo / Karl Williams

Another home, which sits above Dennis Raines’, is also teetering on the edge of the cliff.

“So there was every possibility that house could actually come down the cliff on top of his,” said Clive Raines.

“It’s a little bit sad but I guess the good news is that he’s come out of it alive.”