Several of the Methodist Mission Southern folk had wee waterfalls and new ponds, one or two got caught out by slips or road outages and stuck at home and a very small number wound up in the emergency centre.
Like a lot of South Dunedin, our Little Citizens Early Learning Centre in Oxford was fortunate to escape with just a bit of a lake, but one that drained very quickly. And no water inside.
It meant that we only lost one day of provision, and thanks are due to our whānau and fabulous kaiako who were so flexible around that.
What a difference over 2015!
Now we wait to see the insurers’ response. Will premiums go up? By how much?
For one of our lowest-income communities, any increase in price is going to be a difficult juggle.
And we wait to see mother nature’s plans. These one-in-100-year events, are they going to be every 20 years? Every five?
For government, local and central, the question is how are our hill roads going to manage if these wet events happen more regularly? Will the risk of slips and flooding show up on land information memorandums across the city?
Rates increases are already straining family and business’ budgets, so Dunedin city councillors surely cannot do what is needed alone.
While the hospital campaign is critical, it is not the only billion-dollar effort needed from government for the people of Dunedin.
The Dunedin City Council is promising an in-depth laying out of its plans, delayed from September for more work — hopefully including lessons from the other weekend. Once that is done, it is going to be likely that, along with "they save, we pay", we need a "they’re thrifting, we’re soaking" campaign.
If you would like to support the Mission’s work with a donation, please visit www.givealittle.co.nz and search for The Methodist Mission.
