Alison Collins: Environment Ministry chief science advisor on the high number of Kiwi homes at risk of flooding

A major new report is warning that more than 1000 seaside homes could suffer significant damage from extreme weather by 2060.

And hundreds of thousands of homes worth an estimated $180 billion are located in flood-prone areas, according to Our Marine Environment 2025 from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ.

Alison Collins from the Ministry for the Environment says many of these homes are in low-lying coastal communities and on flood plains.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now one in ten Kei we homes are at risk
of getting flooded. This is according to a new official
report from the Ministry for the Environment. It shows one
hundred and eighty billion dollars worth of assets are currently
in flood prone areas and thirteen hundred coastal homes are
likely to experience significant weather damage by the year twenty sixty.
Allison Collins is the Ministry for the Environment's Chief Science
Advisor and with us HI.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Allison good evening Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Where are these flood prone houses?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Where are they across the country? Many in low lying
coastal communities and on flood chains, so a variety of
different places.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Is it really one and ten?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
I think it's what it's two hundred and nineteen thousand
residential properties, and I think it's about two million, So.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's about one and ten. One in ten represents one
hundred and eighty billion dollars in assets which we cannot
we cannot afford to buy these owners out. So what
do we do?

Speaker 2 (00:59):
So I'm the insurers are certainly signing higher premiums in
high risk areas. The report that we've pulled together really
is to provide the evidence about where the risk is
and how it's increasing, so that communities, insurers, others can
make informed decisions.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Yeah, so that they can basically what they can charge
you more for being in one of these areas. Basically.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yeah, Well, I think it's being transparent about the risks
and then what we do with that is a different question.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
So what do you think happens. Is it just a
case of the insurer's pricing it's so high that eventually
people have to sell.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, the report itself doesn't decide on funding. It just
shows what's at risk and helps target investment so costs
are wasted and exposure doesn't keep growing. Yeah, And really
it's there to also inform future spacial planning so that
we can avoid repeating past exposure and making sure we're
building in the right places in the coastal homes.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Are we talking about when we're talking about these thirteen
hundred coastal homes? Are they the ones low lying by
the beach excuse me? Or are they ones even up
on cliffs?

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Mostly low lying coastal areas. But it's also you have
to think about where you're getting sea level rise, and
so there are some areas in what we know Wellington's
and Eden where there are you know, just the wrong
combination of factors. Really, so you're getting subsidence, sea level rise,
and it's yeah, bringing all those things together. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
Do you think people are awake enough to these risks
when they're buying property?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
I'm not sure really. I mean I bought my property
ten or fifteen years ago. I did look at the
Limb report. That's one of the reasons why we need
good accessible evidence and information so that people can make
an informed decision when they're buying property.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah, fair enough, Hey, thank you very much, Allison. I
really appreciate Ellison Collins, the Ministry for the Environment's Chief
science Advisor. I mean, you think about the just think
about that number, one hundred and eighty billion dollars, right,
So put just for a second, think about yourself here
if you've got one of these, if you let's say
you go you buy yourself a nice who doesn't want
a beach house right by the beach, can open the
doors in the morning, get your cup of coffee, look

(03:07):
at the beach. Oh yeah, you run out for a
little swim house. Isn't that just the dream? Okay, you've
now sunk two million and frankly, if you're sinking only
two million, well done you. Let's say you're sinking five million,
you're sinking five million, what's going to happen to you?
Because it's all adding up to one hundred and eighty
billion dollars and we cannot afford to buy everybody out,
So what do we do? So just I don't know,

(03:28):
I don't know. It's a conundrum, isn't it. It's a
conundrum of the time. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive,
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