Cyclone Gabrielle damage prompts worry about rapid growth in Auckland's Drury

A Drury business owner whose property was seriously damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle is concerned local infrastructure cannot cope with massive growth planned for the area.

"I'm worried it's going to happen again," Anthony Wright said.

Wright owns Drury Tyres, and was called at 6.15am on Tuesday and told the family business was waist-deep in water after the nearby Hingaia Stream had broken its banks and flooded Firth Street.

"It's normally only a little creek, but on Tuesday it turned into a raging torrent," he said. "It was crazy."

Wright said with so much development underway and more planned, he was concerned Hingaia Stream and other local waterways would not be able to cope with the increased run-off.

"Where's all that stormwater going to go?"

He estimated the company had sustained about $250,000 worth of damage in the Valentine's Day flooding.

"I was shocked when I actually saw it. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry."

However, Wright said a mammoth effort by his employees and some help from locals saw the business open for customers again at 1pm on Wednesday.

He said they had to sweep out all of the mud and silt that had flooded through the site and sort out what could be salvaged.

"The team was incredible," Wright said.

Michelle Orum is the sector manager for Cake Commercial Services, which has two properties in Drury that were flooded - one in Firth Street and the other on Norrie Road.

"It just went through everything," Orum said.

She said the water was up to her knees and the company had 25 staff working all day on Tuesday and Wednesday to clean up the mess.

She said it was too early to put a dollar figure on the damage.

"We're still trying to get a list together, but it's going to be mega," she said. "But we've been quite lucky, there are other businesses that are worse off than us."

Orum said she wasn't sure if ongoing growth in the area had led to more flooding.

"But it's never happened like this before. We've never been flooded."

In November last year, Auckland Council decided to drop an appeal, meaning a huge development at Drury could go ahead, as well as giving it more time to fund the necessary infrastructure.

Three of New Zealand's biggest developers - Oyster Capital, Fulton Hogan and Kiwi Property - applied in July 2020 to rezone the land in East Drury from future urban to a mix of residential, business and open space zones.

The council had opposed the plan changes on the grounds it would be left to foot the bill for $1 billion in infrastructure, including $500m for stormwater, sewerage, parks and community facilities. But an out-of-court agreement was reached after mediation.

Auckland Council was approached for comment for this story.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

National Emergency Management Agency advice:

• Put safety first. Don't take any chances. Act quickly if you see rising water. Floods and flash floods can happen quickly. If you see rising water do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and stay away from floodwater.
• Do not try to walk, play, swim, or drive in floodwater: even water just 15 centimetres deep can sweep you off your feet, and half a metre of water will carry away most vehicles.
• If you have evacuated, please stay where you are until you are given the all-clear to go home.
• If you don't need to evacuate, support those who do by staying home, staying off roads and staying safe.
• If you are not able to contact your whānau in the heavily affected areas go to Police 105 website and complete the inquiry form or phone 105 and remember to update if you reconnect through other means.
• Throw away food and drinking water that has come into contact with floodwater as it is often contaminated and can make you sick.
• If you are without power eat the food from your fridge first, then your freezer. Then eat the food in the cupboard or your emergency kit.
• People should stay up to date with the forecasts from MetService and continue to follow the advice of civil defence and emergency services.
• A National State of Emergency is in place for an initial period of seven days and applies to regions that have declared a local State of Emergency.