If your property is located in a Category 1 area and your property was damaged as a result of the Cyclone, or if your property is located in an initial Category 2 or Category 3 area, your local Council will contact you directly via email or letter from 1 June.

This email or letter will contain the specific information about the risk category for the area your property is located in, what categorisation means, what happens next and how you can be involved in community conversations about the future.

Our region’s city and district councils, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and the Government’s Cyclone Recovery Taskforce have been working to assess future severe weather risk in areas across the region. This process has involved looking at information from a range of sources, including the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, the Ministry for the Environment, and claims data from insurance companies.

Everyone involved in the recovery is aiming to provide people with as much certainty as possible, as quickly as possible. These are hugely complex decisions, and we need to balance the need for certainty with the need to get it right.

Local councils and the Crown will work with affected iwi, hapū, and whānau directly to find solutions for their whenua, including collective land and places of significance. The Crown will work with Treaty partners in the regions to develop approaches suitable for that land, navigating a way forward in partnership.

If your property is in an area provisionally categorised as either Category 2 or Category 3, your council will contact you directly to discuss the assessments. They will also involve you and your community in provisional conversations about:

• the impact the category assessments will have on how your community looks, feels, and functions in future, and
• the cultural impacts of these assessments, and your connection to your marae, hapū, iwi, te taiao, awa, arawai, etc.

We expect this will include exploring ways to protect significant sites from future events, building adaptation into the design of developments, or if needed, relocation of communities away from high-risk areas.

We recognise that those whose homes are directly impacted may also be dealing with uncertainty about the future of their collective places of significance, such as their marae and urupā. You will have the opportunity to be part of the conversation about the best way forward.

We know that a one size fits all approach will not suit all the circumstances people and communities find themselves in. In particular, we acknowledge that this approach is unlikely to be suitable for Category 3 land of significance to Māori. For example, collectively owned Māori land, land that has been returned in Treaty settlements, and sites of particular significance to Māori.

This will be a considered process that will take time. Through working with mana whenua, we aim to make the best decisions to balance the significance of these areas and communities while protecting lives.

Support will be available for Māori communities via Te Puni Kōkiri Cyclone Gabrielle Māori Communities Response Fund (until 30 June 2023), in addition to the wider range of financial support available:

Residential properties have been the priority for this risk assessment, to give people certainty about their homes and what to expect next.

Further work is being done in this area, and we will be capturing your views on this as part of the engagement process.

Further work is being done in this area, and we will be capturing your views on this as part of the engagement process.

Local Councils have been working hard to make direct contact with people with properties in Category 1, 2 and 3 areas.

If your property is located in an area that has been categorised as 1, 2 or 3 on the area maps provided on this website but you have not been contacted directly, please contact your Council in the first instance.

If your area is not listed but believe it should be as a result of damage because of Cyclone Gabrielle, please call 0800 117 672.

There will be no impact to your insurance claim. Your claim will continue to progress as normal. Contact your insurance company if you have any questions.

For answers to general insurance questions on the categories see the Insurance Council of NZ’s website.

Responsibility for insurance generally rests with the property owner. Further work is being done on this area and we hope to have an update in early June. 

It’s completely understandable that you may feel like this.

• If your property is located in a Category 1 area: Having the certainty of a Category 1 assessment means you can decide what is best for you and your personal circumstances.

You can have your home repaired or rebuilt, or you can take time to make a decision and think about your next move.

• If your property is located in a Category 2 or 3 area: It is important to note that these provisional assessments are just the start of the decision-making process, and policy decisions are still being worked through regarding options available for properties in these areas.

A more detailed review of the data, including an independent assurance process, was completed on Wednesday, 14 June. 

Following this, local Councils have begun engaging directly with property owners and impacted residents in Category 2 and 3 areas.

Your local Council will be in touch with you again to let you know what that community engagement process looks like and how you can be involved.

The councils and government will work through the details of the funding for both Category 2 and 3 properties. These details are expected to be resolved in June.

For some areas, local Councils will need to undertake community-wide repairs before properties can be safely repaired or rebuilt. This could include things like raising nearby stop banks or improving drainage. There also needs to be consideration on both the cost and practicality of that work, and how it is paid for.

Equally, some properties may require property-specific interventions, such as raising the floor level of the house, and the feasibility and cost of these types of interventions would need to be considered alongside any broader repairs that may be required.

In some areas, more information may be needed, and your local Council will need to work with you and other property owners from your community to gather that data before determining what that means for land categorisation.

This flood risk data used to define the category is provisional and unassured. A review process is currently underway including an independent assessment. We encourage impacted residents to come to upcoming community meetings and share your knowledge of factors impacting the level of risk and how that might be mitigated. Engagement will be adaptive as information becomes available and landowner preferences are understood. Engagement may involve groups of landowners or individual property owners but, either way, it will be an iterative process to determine land categorisation.

Aotearoa New Zealand will almost certainly experience more events like this in the future, and central government is developing legislation that will set out a nationally consistent approach for adapting to the changing natural hazard risks associated with climate change. This includes the Climate Change Adaptation Bill, and other legislation.

The policy response to these specific events is still emerging and should not be seen as setting a precedent for how this or any future government might manage similar situations as a result of potential future events.

Everyone involved in the recovery is aiming to provide people with as much certainty as possible, as quickly as possible. These are hugely complex decisions without a ‘one size fits all’ approach. The decisions made will have a generational impact and must consider the risk to life in a future severe weather event.

It is important for everyone – property owners and decision-makers – to have confidence in the information and evidence available in order to make the best decision possible when considering the options to address risk.

While we understand the stress of further uncertainty, more work is needed on the options for those in Category 2 and 3.

One-on-one conversations and community meetings and conversations are being held from mid-June to better understand the impact of the risk assessments, and what the solutions might be for those Category 2 and 3 areas.

Unfortunately, we have no set date at this time.

For those with properties in Category 1 areas, once you are advised of this outcome, you can get on with your recovery, including making repairs to your property if required, and more forward with your lives.

For those with properties in Category 2 or 3 areas, these provisional assessments are just the start of the process. In some areas, more information may be needed, and your local Council will need to work with you and other property owners from your community to gather that data before determining what that means for land categorisation.

A more detailed review of the data, including an independent assurance process, was completed on Wednesday, 14 June. 

Following this, local Councils have begun engaging directly with you and other members of your community. Your local Council will be in touch to let you know what that community engagement process looks like and how you can be involved.  

We acknowledge the uncertainty about what is happening with your property and your community may be challenging.

If you, your family/whānau or someone you know needs help, please reach out to any of the other support services available, click here.

There is also a range of support still available for those who are affected by the aftermath of the extreme weather. This includes community and provider support funds, plus a food fund for community providers to refill their stocks and support demand from flood-affected households. A list of social support is here: Community Support Package for people impacted by North Island floods and Cyclone Gabrielle - Ministry of Social Development (msd.govt.nz).

The Temporary Accommodation Service continues to connect households in need with accessible accommodation while their home is repaired or rebuilt. More details are here: Temporary Accommodation Service » Temporary Accommodation (mbie.govt.nz).

Te Whatu Ora is helping people who have been displaced by the severe weather to get the health and wellbeing support they need. Find out more here.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has launched the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service to advise and support homeowners to resolve residential insurance issues. This can include legal, engineering and wellbeing support. More details here: New Zealand Claims Resolution Service (nzcrs.govt.nz).

For help with silt and flood-damaged goods, contact Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

For rates rebates, or advice on rebuilding and repairs, contact your local city or district council.

The Temporary Accommodation Service continues to connect households in need with accessible accommodation while their home is repaired or rebuilt. Rent subsidies are also available. More details are here: Temporary Accommodation Service » Temporary Accommodation (mbie.govt.nz).

Across Hawke’s Bay, community engagement with those with properties in Category 2 and 3 areas is currently expected to commence from mid-June and will include representatives from the relevant local Council/s, central Government agencies, and support services.

Your local Council will be in touch with you again to let you know what that community engagement process looks like for your area and how you can be involved.  

Local Councils and Government need to know as much as possible about individual property and community circumstances so risk mitigation measures or options for moving can be developed.

We remain committed to ensuring that decisions that impact a community are made with that community’s involvement and input. We are also committed to allowing adequate time for people to consider the complexities and to provide their input into the future of their home and community. This process can’t be rushed.

If you have a property located in a Category 2 or 3 area, your input during the community engagement and consultation process will be critical to helping shape the outcome for your area.

Local Councils and Government are working together on the recovery for Te-Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay.

Councils have responsibility for regional recovery plans, including flood mitigation plans, while central government is supporting with any new policies that are needed to help with the recovery. The Government is currently working through policy decisions and hopes to provide an update in mid-June.

Decisions about funding are still being worked through. An update about funding is expected in mid-June.

The government is looking at options for those properties Category 3 areas and will be consulting on this sort of question.

These options will be voluntary, and you may wish to speak with your financial advisor, insurer and/or bank as part of your decision. 

NOTE: The maps on this website are provisional, and have not been reviewed. This data may be reviewed and altered at any time, without notice.  Severely affected localities will be advised when the maps are independently verified and peer reviewed and the website will be updated.

These hazard maps have been prepared using the following information:

• Approximate flood extents derived from air photos taken on or around Feb. 16, 2023 (Post Cyclone Gabrielle) by Skycan.
• Rapid building assessment data for Hastings District Council, Wairoa District Council, Napier City Council, and Central Hawke’s Bay District Council.
• Contour information derived from LiDAR data collection November 2020.
• Photographs of flood extents and flood damage and information supplied during public meetings and discussions with residents.
• Information from insurance providers.