On Friday the 27th of January, 2023, Auckland experienced unprecedented rainfall, with a summer’s worth of rain falling in just one day causing flash flooding and destabilisation of areas of land.
This weather event caused extensive damage to public and private property, with low-lying areas, and those close to stormwater runoff hit the hardest.
Unfortunately, the Mayfield Scout Group was not spared from the carnage. A torrent of water relentlessly barreled down the driveway meeting with an already swollen creek. The force and turbulence of this water was merciless and compromised the stability of the land, resulting in the subsidence of a significant portion of the carpark and driveway. Approximately 40m2 of the group’s car park and native bush ended up in the creek below.
With the already sodden ground and continued rain over the weekend, several trees fell, one ending up on the roof of the hall, blocking the second exit of the building.
Due to damage to the property and hall, it was determined that it was unsafe to return to the site to conduct regular Kea, Cub, Scout, and Venturer meetings. It was necessary to find an alternative location to hold meetings for Team 1 in 2023. The local primary school, Marlborough Primary, provided access to its facilities for this period.
