Storm-affected Muriwai residents frustrated with ongoing category changes

Almost two years on from the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, residents in Auckland's Muriwai are still picking up the pieces, yearning to move on.

The area of Auckland's west coast was severely damaged, with landslips cutting off communities, destroying homes and killing two volunteer firefighters.

For some residents, hopes of remaining in the community have been shattered - their categories changing from 2C to 3 buyout.

Twenty months on, remnants of slips are still visible along the clifftops, overgrown weeds fill spaces that houses once filled. Others are now construction sites.

Erik Engstrom was given a category 2C for his property in April - that meant with community intervention, they could remain in their home of almost 14 years. But that all changed five months later when their property was changed to a Category 3 - meaning they needed to move out.

"They called us and said that 'your category has changed', or 'your house has changed category to category three'. I was crying on the phone, like, devastated. My daughter has been crying a lot and my boy is angry.

"What I'm trying to tell him is that it's not a specific individual that has done something wrong, but try to explain that to a nine-year-old."

Engstrom said along with three of his neighbours they were told a 3.5 metre wall that was 60 metres long could protect them from future disasters, and they could stay. But after feasibility testing in August and September, their category suddenly changed.

Engstrom said the categorisation process was flawed.

"The problem with that whole scheme is that the feasibility, meaning where they actually test if it's possible to build, or if it's feasible to build happens at the end. So it wasn't until September when they actually started drawing it up that they realised it was going to be too complicated and too expensive."

Auckland Council natural and built environmental lead for the recovery office Craig Hobbs said building the wall simply was not possible.

"When we got into the detail and realised that the land was quite unstable, there was a lot of natural springs and things in that area, it just wasn't feasible."

But he admitted changing a category was not ideal.

"We're working as quickly as we can, but at the end of the day, it's important we do get it right, you know? And make sure that we give people the right answer at the right time. I think giving people a false hope or going out early and saying, 'we think' or 'here is what your category is' and then having to change, it's probably a worse scenario."

There were 68 Category 3 properties all up in Muriwai. Some would be transported, but others had already been demolished or ripped down.

Residents had questions about what would happen with the empty spaces after they had gone.

Clare Bradley, chair of the Muriwai Community Association, said many people like Engstrom wanted to remain in Muriwai, but the property market was extremely limited.

Residents wanted to see empty Category 3 spaces transformed into gardens or picnic areas for those unable to return.

"So, it's a fair proportion of our village really and we're all keen to know what council will do," she said.

"It would be lovely to be able to welcome back some of the people who have been displaced permanently from Muriwai as a result of what happened and give them a sense of belonging here."

Local café Sand Dunz was permanently closed due to crucial repair work, and so were multiple popular walking tracks, including the well-known Maukatia Gannet Track.

With summer fast approaching, residents were desperate for a sense of normality and a boost for businesses.

Auckland Council told RNZ parts of the Gannet Track will be reopened this summer. Sand Dunz would remain closed, but food trucks would be provided to cater for hungry beachgoers.

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