Sunnynook pillar confronts flood’s huge toll

Bronwyn Bound was babysitting a neighbour’s four children when her phone started pinging on ‘Flood Friday’, 27 January.

Down the road from her Forrest Hill home, waters were rising fast towards her Sunnynook Community Centre workplace, but she had to sit tight through the three hours it took for the children’s parents to navigate their way back from the abandoned Elton John concert.

It was 10.15pm before she got to Sunnynook, driving towards the bus station. “There were cars parked at funny angles with their windows open.”

She expected the worst at the building where she has been the co-ordinator for 28 years. Fortunately, it remained dry inside, although floodwaters lapped its deck.

That was the start of Bound’s busiest week, working days of 12 hours and more.

“She’s our local angel, what she does is over and beyond,” said Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Mel Powell. “She can be compassionate and strategic at the same time.” And she knows everyone.

Powell, former chair of the Sunnynook Community Association, called its committee and Bound together at 7.30 the next morning. They were making street assessments soon after and by midday allocating tasks to volunteers.

The Sunnynook response drew visits by National Party leader Chris Luxon and Mayor Wayne Brown three days after the flood – for a photo-op and a press conference – but it took longer to get any actual outside help.

Meanwhile, Bound, Powell and their tight team of helpers battled to meet a diverse community’s needs.

The Glenfield Greyhounds Rugby League Club, Scouts and local students added manpower to support them, and former Navy man Reilly Brown lent practical experience from previous emergency response deployments.

“We were very fortunate that we had strong community leaders,” is Bound’s take. Others put her firmly in that category.

After seven straight days of Bound being both a quiet facilitator and a shoulder to cry on, Powell said: “We sent her home.”

Back after Waitangi Day, Bound was determined to see the centre return as much as possible to normal routine.

Classes started again. “It’s important for people to come and exercise,” she says.

The Ministry of Social Development showed up too, after requests.

An active flood response will continue to be needed for another month or so, Bound expected.

People have ongoing issues waiting on insurance payouts and dealing with stress. Helping those who don’t speak English get support is another challenge.

And, yes, there is still some messy work to be done: “What they found when they were lifting carpet in some places was a lot of mosquitoes.”

Bound’s concerns are: “The welfare of the people who have lost everything and where are they going to live because they want to stay in the community

Some are struggling to find accommodation and others are reluctant to return to homes where they were traumatised.

This applies particularly to the hard-hit residents of Kapiti Pl, near the bus station, where in some places water was at head height.

Powell was down there helping five people to safety late into 27 January. That included grappling with a woman with mental health issues who did not want to leave her home. Mental health support could not be raised.

Bound says up to 60 Sunnynook houses were particularly badly damaged. “A lot of people are in emergency houses and it’s when they move into new places that they will need household stuff.”

Counselling is another need the centre hopes to cater for, by setting up some sessions soon.

Children who couldn’t swim went through terrifying experiences of being carried through the floodwaters on their parents’ backs. “They were scared for their life.”

The centre also wants to be seen as a friendly place people can just visit for time out.

Powell hoped volunteers might offer to be there to help out for a few hours in the weeks ahead.

A slow but steady trickle of women have come in who are near the end of their tether. “People are exhausted and just needing a place to come. We’re really seeing the stress.”

One woman had been doing washing for a week. She needed a break from her flooded home and a friendly face. “The smell is getting people down.”

With school back, it was hoped some school mums might be free to help, continuing the great volunteer support the community had shown, which had peaked with groups of up to 40 people out helping on the streets some days.

Back in her office where a wet-vac and several dehumidifiers sit, Bound said she wanted to spend time now analysing the response and identifying useful resources for the community. She will feed back ideas to the local board and Auckland Council staff.

She was also keen to compare notes with Milford, which was also badly affected.

Bound knows Sunnynook, being on a flood plain, will face floods again and she wanted it to be as prepared as possible.

“This could be practical things like having sacks on hand for sandbagging.”

If the centre had sacks stored, a truck could dump sand, instead of people panicking as they attempted to find sand and sandbags at short notice.