The 11 homes were delivered under the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Temporary Accomodation Service - in partnership with the marae and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. Photo: Supplied
Whānau displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle are moving into a temporary village at Ōmāhu Marae in Hawke's Bay - more than a year-and-a-half after their homes were devastated.
The 11 homes were delivered under the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Temporary Accommodation Service - in partnership with the marae and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.
The purpose of the Temporary Accommodation Service scheme is to provide temporary support to those displaced by a civil defence emergency - such as a cyclone, flood, or earthquake.
Houses built for whanau displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle finished
Meihana Watson, the general manager of Te Piringa Hapū, told Checkpoint they are very happy with the outcome.
"The community were really happy with the outcome, waiting 20 months on from Cyclone Gabrielle, being in the process of these homes and the land developed for some of those that have been displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle back in 2023."
He said in the meantime, some people have been staying in temporary accommodation.
"It's probably about 10 to 15 kilometres away from their homes. Some have been bunking up with families for this long and have been waiting for this process to be completed."
Whānau moving into the homes in the next couple of weeks are relieved the development is finished, he said.
"It's been challenging for a lot of our whānau that have been bunking them with whānau or squeezing into a one bedroom motel room, when there's a full family in there."
The 11 homes were delivered under the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Temporary Accomodation Service - in partnership with the marae and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. Photo: Supplied
He said the next stage for them is to discuss with MBIE and the government on what happens after the 3-year lease for the land ends.
"We're hoping that they will be left on the land. So that's a discussion to be held with the government of the day."
Omāhu Marae is one of the bigger marae's that does not have kaumatua housing, he said.
"We're hoping that some arrangement can come to fruition that we keep them for kaumatua and family housing."
For people moving into the relocatable homes, some people have insurance on their damaged homes, and some are still battling with insurance claims, he said.
"There are also some that don't have insurance which we as a hapū authority are supporting those whānau on and fixing the homes to a healthy home standard.
"We've been working through this with whānau for the last year since we've received some funding from another government agency to help the uninsured whānau."
In the community, 33 of the 53 homes that were flooded were uninsured.
"We are working with those families in regards to repairing their homes to healthy standard and advocating on their behalf in regards to insurance going forward," he said.
"We are working with Hawke's Bay Regional Council, and we were in 2C predicament that. The community itself has been lifted to a 1, which hopefully insurance companies will work with our whānau in regards to insuring them and hopefully that the insurances haven't skyrocketed."
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