Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

'We are vulnerable, low-income and at risk': Report identifies districts most vulnerable to flooding

By Diane McCarthy (Local Democracy Reporter)
Rotorua Daily Post·
9 Nov, 2022 10:27 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Flooding in Westport earlier this year. Photo / File

Flooding in Westport earlier this year. Photo / File

LDR_STRAP

Ōpōtiki has been identified in a Government report as one of the seven districts in New Zealand least able to cope in a severe flooding event, such as the one in Westport last winter.

The Department of Internal Affairs' August 2022 report Vulnerable Communities Exposed to Flood Hazard was released by Associate Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty on October 21.

The report said the flooding event in Westport in July last year revealed the "challenging mix of flood hazard and financial limitations" the community and council faces.

With climate change expected to exacerbate events of this sort and disproportionately impact people with a high level of socioeconomic vulnerability, the department undertook analysis to identify other communities with high levels of vulnerability to flooding.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The report identified 44 communities that combined a high level of socioeconomic vulnerability with exposure to flood hazards and whose territorial authorities had no plans to build flood protection infrastructure.

Flooding in Westport earlier this year. Photo / File
Flooding in Westport earlier this year. Photo / File

The study also took into account the wider district's financial capacity to fund responses to flood risk.

Communities were defined as settlements of more than 50 people, so did not include isolated rural dwellings.

The report focused on areas identified on the New Zealand Index of Deprivation (2018) as the most socioeconomically vulnerable 10 per cent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Surface, river and coastal flood hazard data was provided by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. More than half of these communities were in the upper part of the North Island.

The report also named Ōpōtiki District Council as one of seven territorial authorities that "may also have a significant proportion of their population in vulnerable communities, and which are potentially exposed to flood hazard".

Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore is keen to work with central and regional government to find solutions to the town's vulnerability to flood hazards. Photo / Supplied
Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore is keen to work with central and regional government to find solutions to the town's vulnerability to flood hazards. Photo / Supplied

Gisborne and Rotorua were also included, along with South Waikato, Waitomo, Buller and the Far North.

Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore said he agreed with the report, but the big question was how regional and central government was prepared to work with the district council to mitigate the situation.

He also said the two state highways in the district needed protecting.

"Absolutely, we meet the brief of the report bang-on – we are vulnerable, low-income and at risk. It isn't hypothetical; we are already living with things like State Highway 2 and SH35 closures way too regularly. There has been massive investment in Ōpōtiki to raise incomes and create jobs which may lead to more growth. There has also been work done over the years to improve the levels of flood protection.

"The big question is, 'Now what?' We can't do it alone, and are keen to work with central and regional government to find a way forward."

He said the community needed to be consulted on what needed to be done.

"We're not the only players in this space. We don't want to 'do to' our communities. We want to 'do with'. We'll need a new way of doing things, and we are keen to work together to find solutions."

The report goes on to say the most significant investment in flood risk management tended to involve river protection works administered and funded by regional councils.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In urban areas, district and unitary councils fund stormwater management, emergency management and land use planning as part of flood protection."

Asked what this report could mean for the Ōpōtiki district in the future, McAnulty said the report would inform the Government's decision-making on how it funded flood defenses, though local government was currently responsible for this.

"The Government has a record of supporting communities through the response and recovery of severe weather events, but support for mitigation is out of policy as local government is currently responsible for flood risk management," he said.

"As we see severe weather events become more severe and more frequent, central and local government will need to work together to build resilience. This report is part of a work programme to create some certainty and guidelines around what support may be available for flood-prone communities in future."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'Do what's right': Shaken witness' call after hit-and-run

16 Jun 01:59 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

16 Jun 01:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Police cordon on Edmund Rd, Rotorua

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'Do what's right': Shaken witness' call after hit-and-run

'Do what's right': Shaken witness' call after hit-and-run

16 Jun 01:59 AM

A motorbike overtook a car and hit a pedestrian on Edmund Rd.

BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

16 Jun 01:00 AM
Police cordon on Edmund Rd, Rotorua

Police cordon on Edmund Rd, Rotorua

'You can’t come in smoking your meth pipe': Lifewise CEO calls for crisis centre

'You can’t come in smoking your meth pipe': Lifewise CEO calls for crisis centre

15 Jun 06:00 PM
How one volunteer makes people feel seen
sponsored

How one volunteer makes people feel seen

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP