Insurance won’t cover for flood, can you help?

On Wednesday 15th December, my sister and brother-in-law experienced a severe and frightening flash flood at their home on Banks Peninsula, Canterbury NZ.

They watched the water go from a slightly flooded wee creek to a 40 metre wide torrent right outside their house taking with it everything in its path. They watched the power pole topple and disappear, Tricia’s garden that she has lovingly tended, and shared the rewards of, for more than 13 years washed away. Her greenhouses/shade houses/netted framing that enabled a year round supply of fresh food, gone. Tools, fences, trees, vegetables, berry patch, all gone in just minutes.

They lost all contact with the outside world, no phone, power, internet, water or sewage. No road access (just over a week later, they now have 4wd access). There are 20 slips on their road. Some huge, some big and a few smaller ones.

After 24 hrs of no contact, we called the police who eventually sent in a helicopter to establish they were ok. They were running a generator for a few hours a day to try to keep their supplies in the freezer frozen - especially important with the garden gone. The torrent had been a foot from entering their house, thankfully it stopped rising just short.

So now the cleanup has begun, Tricia and Paul are on their own - no access is available to non-residents – and are working hard to start restoring some order into the chaos that has overtaken their life in the last 10 days.

Tricia emailed her insurance company today after regaining internet access and they will not help with greenhouses, fences etc, only tools. Despite around $22,000.00 of garden equipment lost to the flood. She needs to get at least one good sized greenhouse installed well before winter to enable a new food supply.

After supplying huge quantities of fruit and veggies to local and not so local people in need over the years when she’s had excess, I feel it’s time to give back to her. Can you help?