PAK’nSAVE Wairau Road, Auckland, reopened for business at 7am on Saturday February 4th after being devastated with floodwater during the recent extreme weather event. Store Owner Operator Quintin Proctor was at home with his family when the flooding ebgan, and once he arrived, the store was swamped.
“My duty manager and team were on site at the time, they called me and said looks like there’s a bit of water coming into the store, I jumped in my car and tried to get here, but the roads had flooded, and most were blocked, it was chaos out there. By the time I managed to get there, the store had flooded, and my team told me there were people upstairs trapped. My top priority was their safety and how to get them out. I called my electrician out and we waded into the building and secured the electrical risk – There were 80 odd people upstairs with power going on and off. We explained the situation to them and how we planned to get out - We stuck to the middle of the store, linked into a chain and walked out – I explained to them that as they got outside they’d feel a tug on their legs as the current pulled but not to be alarmed and just stay linked and close to the sides of the building, I was at the front and security at the back,” said Proctor.
“We got everyone safely out and to high ground – then we focused on getting people home. I even put a few in my car and drove them. On Saturday morning, as flood waters receded, teams arrived on site to assess the damage and begin the repair process.”
The store has been deep cleaned, and the flood-damaged stock has been replaced. The shelving and cabling have been replaced, and the checkouts lifted, cleaned, and sanitised.
“The damage was significant. The store had been steeped in knee deep water – Fresh foods were a 100 percent write-off because we’d had to turn the power off, so that was all gone – anything the flood water had touched, we had to write off. Every piece of machinery was damaged - ovens and fridges were all gone. It was just devastating.”
“It’s been really humbling to experience this and how the team has come together. The support that’s been wrapped around the store by Foodstuffs teams, contractors, electricians and suppliers has been phenomenal – There’s been hundreds of people coming through this business to put it back together.”
