[ICE]

AUCKLAND : Hundreds of people have been evacuated and houses have collapsed amid flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain on New Zealand's North Island.

A state of emergency continued yesterday in the Bay of Plenty region as authorities began to count the cost of flood devastation, expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Link :

[ICE]

Just saw this.......


Are you guys ok?

[Diane]

That sucks ICE.. I hope nobody is hurt

[ICE]

I hope not!!

I think Kall and Sparkle are from the Bay of Plenty?

[Diane]

Not sure man.. I know one of my buddies was in the Tsunami, it's a worry when you know somebody near where something bad is happening.

[nih]

When they say "state of emergency" they mean a couple of roads are closed. Sure, some houses might get washed away, but they'll be insured and nobody will get killed.

They should be declaring a state of emergency for driving - way, way more people die on the roads here than from any sort of bad weather. A hundred-fold more.

[ICE]

Ok!

The words :"State of Emergency", just evoke a worry in people.

But if it's like you say, Nih, then things will be fine!

Just think, you don't have to water your garden for a few weeks.....

[busyness53]

Yep and they are in for more rain, poor buggers wouldnt wish that on my enemies
let alone my friends, but living by the sea makes it even worse.

[kall]

We're in Auckland...far from the Bay of Plenty.

I got a bit wet yesterday pulling out the large weed (tobacco weed, nasty stuff) but otherwise..quite safe.

[ICE]

Glad to hear that, Kall!!

[Sparklechick]

My brother and father live in the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga as it happens.

Fortunately they're not in the area affected mostly by the rain.

My nieces are happy coz their school was closed down coz the teachers couldn't make it in due to the floods.

A lot of people have lost their houses which is really sad.

[ICE]

Originally Posted by Sparklechick

A lot of people have lost their houses which is really sad.

Is there any compensation for them?

[Sparklechick]

Yes there will be compensation but money can't really replace the total loss of your home and most of your possessions. Some of the houses are so bad that nothing can be salvaged for them.

AND we just heard last night that everyone living on the main street affected (even if their houses were left undamaged) will have it noted on their housing report that the house is susceptible to floods which the home owners aren't happy about because the value of their houses will decrease and they may have trouble selling.

[ICE]

That is bad!!

[Diane]

Tragic.. I feel so bad for those people