Tornado-stricken homes assessed for damages

As East Tamaki reels from a tornado that hit the upper South Island on Monday, homes damaged by the weather event were assessed by building inspection teams, and residents were urged to take photos for the insurance claims that will follow.

Sixty to 70 assessments were done on damaged homes, the majority of which received a white placard, meaning no significant damage. Ten were given a yellow sticker, while none of the homes were given a red sticker.

In a report from the RNZ, Auckland Emergency Management group controller Mace Ward urged people to keep up to date with weather forecasts as more weather events could be headed for Auckland. He said that much of the damage to homes was localised in a strip running from the Pakuranga Golf Club to the Barry Curtis Park in South Bush.

The tornado in East Tamaki is just the latest in weather events that have battered New Zealand in the first four months of 2023. The country is still reeling from the economic damage caused by the Auckland floods in late January and Cyclone Gabrielle in February, with both events expected to cut heavily into the profits of the property insurance sector.

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