For Lachlan Mackinven, the news came over the blower.
A phone call from Auckland Council to finally let him know the status of his Muriwai home he hasn’t been allowed to enter since Cyclone Gabrielle unleashed a string of deadly landslides back in February.
But when Lachlan hung up, it was really no news at all.
“I was just given Category 2/3 which means they need to do some more investigation to see if there's anything they can do to make the property safe enough to live in,” a clearly dejected Lachlan told us.
Lachlan’s house and land, at the base of Muriwai’s steep cliffs, are undamaged, but it was red stickered by council because neighbouring slips made it too dangerous to enter.
For the past seven months the single dad has been living in a single bed caravan with his 5-year-old daughter Charlotte at the Muriwai campground.
Sunday has been following their plight as they patiently waited to hear if they would ever go home again.
"I'm so tired, I feel so tired all the time”, he told us in May.
“You start to wonder ... how long can a person go on like this ... I don’t want to get to breaking point.”
Lachlan didn’t sleep last night as he worried about what the council’s decision would be.
Over the past four months TVNZ's Sunday has stayed alongside shattered residents as they waited for officials to tell them if their homes were safe to return to. (Source: Sunday)
Category 2/3 means he’s still in limbo.
“I'm feeling a little shellshocked and a little upset,” he told us.
“I really wanted to able to go home. I didn't really want a buyout but if we were told that we had a buyout then at least we'd have some clarity, and we could move on with our lives, but it seems that we're still waiting.”
Still waiting.
In a caravan.
In the middle of winter.
With a five-year-old.
Forty-one other homes at Muriwai have been given the same Category 2/3 status.
They too are still in limbo.
They’re the first in Auckland to get high risk assessments following the damage caused by the anniversary weekend floods and cyclone. (Source: 1News)
Charlotte Reynolds also got the news over the phone.
“A little bit excited,” she told us after she’d hung up from the council.
Charlotte’s house has been classified as Category 3 which means she’s eligible for a buyout.
A massive pine tree sits in the middle of Charlotte and daughter Amalia’s home on Domain Crescent.
It was propelled like a missile by the raging landslides, blasting through 16-year-old Amalia’s bedroom, past the kitchen and into the lounge.
They were taken in by their local builder and whanau and have only recently moved out.
Now Charlotte and Amalia can also move on.
“It's a huge moment,” she said, “I've looked at that damage in my house and just couldn't see how that could be mitigated so this is really fantastic that we're going to be part of the buyout.”
This is just the first step in a process, but no one seems to know how long it will take.
And many questions still remain.
Charlotte said, “when they're talking about a voluntary buyout, is it 50/50, where's our contribution, how do we work that out with insurance?
“It's fantastic that we're able to move on from this trauma," she said, “we just need a little bit more help to get us through the financial side.”
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