I am, of course, thinking about the ferocious erosion of the sand at Middle Beach and the ever upward rise in groundwater for South Dunedin and sea level rise generally for Otago — estimated at 40cm by 2077-2126.
We are not the only ones facing that tide.
In Wellington, on top of the rest of it, the Petone foreshore is also sinking — by 2042, Petone (about the same size as South D) will experience 1-in-100-years storms every year.
In Auckland, the combination of low-lying land and valleys acting as flood zones means increased storms and sea level risk will batter tens of thousands of homes, every year.
New Brighton in Christchurch, Ōamaru, Motueka in Tasman, Whangārei, Whanganui ... we are not the only ones.
The cost of insurance in Florida and Louisiana in the United States has increased by 65% in three years. In 20 years’ time it may cost more to insure a house each year than to buy one!
The cost of the South Dunedin floods in 2015 were estimated by insurer IAG at $138 million — that is $180m in today’s money.
The cost, be it for prevention (walls and groynes), mitigation (wetlands, stormwater systems), or retreat (red-zoning areas and compensating owners) that homeowners, insurers, taxpayers, ratepayers, renters will have to bear is not $132m over five years. It is billions.
We can probably make that cost simpler, and split it more fairly, if we work together.
That cannot mean each of these major institutions — government, councils, insurers, landlords — acting as alone.
We need to do it together.
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