92-year-old still stuck after floods

An elderly resident in West Auckland’s Kumeu¯ is among a group of people still unable to return home, after extensive flooding inundated the region on August 31. Diana Crawford, 92, contracted pneumonia after wading through water as she escaped her house. She is now staying with family in Kaukapakapa. Her daughter Deborah said it was heartbreaking to see her mother’s deterioration. Eighty homes were significantly damaged by the floods across Huapai, Waimauku, Kumeu¯ , Ranui and Piha, and four were no longer habitable. Nine families are still in emergency housing.