IAG New Zealand says “specific, targeted and urgent” steps are needed to reduce flooding risks faced by exposed communities, as severe weather hitting the country this week triggers landslides and causes rivers to overflow.

The insurer is seeking action on a three-step plan that would involve better understanding which locations are most at risk, ceasing development in flood-prone areas, and establishing a national flood protection investment program.

“The most important thing we can do is ensure people are not placed in harm’s way and do not suffer the loss and disruption caused by a flood event,” IAG New Zealand CEO Amanda Whiting said. “Avoiding the impact on lives and people’s wellbeing must be the priority.”

Ms Whiting says climate change is a critical issue that is already having serious impacts on people’s lives through more frequent and intense storms, floods, droughts and wildfires, and it will also drive rising sea levels.

IAG’s three-step plan to reduce flood risk includes a joint government and private sector project to build a common understanding of which hazard-prone communities are most in need of support to reduce their risks.

This would take into account existing protections, the financial position of councils, the deprivation and resilience of communities, the availability and affordability of insurance and lending, as well as current investment plans and projects.

The second step would involve the Environment Ministry working with local government and stakeholders to develop a National Policy Statement that requires councils to avoid new development, or intensification of existing development, within locations exposed to flooding that may occur more frequently than one-in-50 years.

The third step would establish a national program to improve flood defences, with the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, local government and others developing a business case and program of work for investment in flood protection infrastructure for priority locations.

“These are practical steps that will lead to a sensible and targeted reduction of flood risk for the communities that most need it,” Ms Whiting says. “IAG is prepared to play its part in each of these steps.”

New Zealand earlier this month launched its first National Adaptation Plan, with future updates to be developed every six years in response to Climate Change Commission risk assessments.

“The National Adaptation Plan was a great start in the response to the impacts of climate change and includes a wide range of activity that will help grow New Zealand’s ability to adapt. But we need to be much more specific, targeted and urgent about the steps we will take to reduce the risk of flooding,” Ms Whiting says.

“To keep people safe, we need to think smarter. We need greater investment in infrastructure and other solutions that either protect people or move them out of harm’s way.”