A Dunedin family have seen the aftermath of a landslide that demolished parts of their home following flooding in the Otago region.
Fiona Cadogan, Chad Roulston and their two children evacuated their home early on Friday morning, and alongside 1News’ video journalist Jared McCulloch, came home to see the damage today.
Approaching the property in the suburb of St Leonards, everything looks normal, if a little muddy. What looks to be a former patio earlier is now crushed by fallen trees and sheets of corrugated iron bent out of shape.
The kitchen is demolished. Shelving units have fallen off the wall, the central heating system is sitting at an angle after falling through the roof and lights have been knocked out of place.
“The kitchen needed redoing anyway,” Cadogan joked, “but I guess we won’t be cleaning up the mess anyway.”
Insulation is hanging out of the walls, posing a fire risk to the already destroyed house.
“The [pet] chinchilla is okay,” Cadogan said. “That’s the important thing, isn’t it? It just is what it is. We are really well-insured.”
A car can be seen, half inside the house, half on the former patio. The outdoor chicken coop is squashed – but the chickens themselves were seen strutting around the property.
Cadogan was told yesterday by a fire chief that “the house was OK”, but Cadogan admits the house is in a worse state than she feared.
“I think since yesterday morning, more slip has come down and it looks like the back end of the house is ruined now.”
The household was woken at 12.15am, early on Friday morning, by a big bang that they discovered was an initial slip behind their property. By 12.30am their home had been evacuated.
Fiona Cadogan, Chad Ralston and their two children returned to their St Leonards home alongside 1News after being evacuated on Friday. (Source: 1News)
‘Heartbreaking’ damage
Cadogan called the damage “heartbreaking.”
“[There is] a lot of devastation, really. Things are ruined. I have a grandmother clock that I had restored, now that’s crushed in the dining room.”
The dining room has been smashed by the garage, which Cadogan said was about 50 metres away before the flooding started. That’s where the car was, before parking itself in her home.
She continued: “But we are balancing that up. We got out, we’re still alive – we just have to look to the positives.”
Her home and property are insured, but she is yet to learn if it will be possible to move back in or if they will “have to abandon ship”.
Cadogan said its “quite disorientating, quite distressing” to see the land after the slips and flooding. In the ten years she has lived in the area, she said she has never seen anything quite like this.
Despite the damage, Cadogan said the family have “had a lot of wins today”, even managing a laugh.
“What’s come out of this is the amazing people that have offered to help – its so cliché, everyone’s gathered around, my workmates have been beautiful, offering to help. It’s so nice to see people offering us toothbrushes. That’s what matters. At the end of the day, you have to clean your teeth.
“Life is going to carry on, and we’ll clean our teeth.”
Support for those impacted by flooding events
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has civil defence payments available for people in the Dunedin area affected by the flooding. People do not have to be on a benefit to apply, and non-residents may be eligible.
These payments can help with:
- emergency food, clothing and bedding that has been damaged or destroyed
- costs for people who have had to leave their home
- evacuees taken into a private home, marae or community centre
Affected residents should call Work and Income New Zealand on 0800 400 100 for more information and to apply, or via the Work and Income website.