Rebuild or relocate? Climate crisis leaves New Zealand coastal communities facing tough choice
Tens of thousands of homes are exposed on country’s vast coastline, as climate change exacerbates extreme weather
The tiny settlement of Westport is no stranger to a deluge – the oldest European settlement in the South Island sits on New Zealand’s West Coast, which holds the unenviable gong for the highest annual rainfall in the country. It is also familiar with floods. The community of fewer than 5,000 people perches on the low lying banks of the Buller River – a broad, temperamental waterway that bottlenecks out to the Tasman sea.
In 1926 the river broke its banks and flooded the town, causing widespread devastation. There have been numerous floods since, but until this year, it had escaped catastrophe with the implementation of a man-made overflow channel into the Orowaiti River, regular dredging and river training walls.
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