South Aucklanders struck by a deadly tornado over the weekend say the lack of communication has muddied the waters for affected families, with a local teacher urgently calling for a "playbook" to outline the next steps.
Residents are rallying together to rebuild the community after the violent storm carved a path of destruction through Wiri and Papatoetoe on Saturday, killing one person and causing significant damage to a number of homes.
But local Carla Makiha says a lack of communication has left a number of families in the dark about what to do next, many of whom are unable to return to their homes after the tornado rendered them uninhabitable.
"We're in emergency housing at the moment, we move to a motel temporarily, but beyond today, we actually don't know - we've not spoken to or [had] anyone physically come to see us at our whare," Mahika, a school teacher, told The AM Show on Monday morning.
Although her family had cover for their possessions, she says "a lot of questions" are being raised around insurance.
"Natural disasters, they're not Monday to Friday. The biggest issue we've had is case managers don't work Saturday-Sunday, so we don't get anyone to physically come and see us - aside from the people that wrapped our house - until today. So moving forward, I have no answers for that," she said. "There have been people that have been able to assist, but not like what we want to move forward.
"There needs to be a playbook. These disasters are not uncommon - they're rare, but not uncommon. There needs to be a go-to - Civil Defence, if you're making the calls, make the calls."
But Mahika is counting her blessings as her coaching commitments required her to be at the rugby field when the violent storm struck her home. She says she is lucky to be alive.
"If we weren't where we were at that particular time, we would've been inside our house, which is full of glass - and you and I wouldn't be having this conversation. Right place, right time - at the worst time ever," she told The AM Show.
"When we went back home yesterday, the reality of where we could've been… we're really lucky. I count my blessings, I really do."
She says she initially had mistaken the "roar" of the tornado tearing through the neighbourhood for a crashing plane.
"There was no warning - just the heavy rain and then the roar. Where I live, underneath the airplanes, I actually thought an airplane was crashing - but no, it was not."
Although Mahika has praised the quick work of volunteer services, particularly Fire and Emergency, she says not enough was done to shut down the live powerlines that were draped across properties and streets, posing a serious risk to locals. She claimed it took almost four hours before the fallen powerlines were no longer hazardous as volunteers attempted to corral residents to their driveways.
"You can shut the country down for eight weeks for lockdown, but you can't shut Auckland's power down to ensure everybody in our neighbourhood were safe," she said. "We wanted to go and check on our house, people with pets - but we couldn't move until the power lines were absolutely [shut down]."
Makiha says the response from authorities in the aftermath of the tornado paled in comparison to the work of community leaders and volunteers, including the Salvation Army.
"That immediate response was from within our own community, our own people."
On Sunday, the Government announced it will front up $100,000 to help the community recover from the wild weather. Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says the money will be donated to a Mayoral Relief Fund, which can be used to assist affected families, individuals, community organisations or marae.
"My heart goes out to the family and friends who have lost a loved one, and to those who have been injured. I know this has been a distressing weekend for people in Auckland, with many lives disrupted, and many homes and businesses damaged," Faafoi said.
"While it's too early to know the full cost of the damage, this initial contribution will help those communities start to get back on their feet."
