Reducing flood disruption: A guide for businesses

Check your local council flood viewer. Many local councils provide a regional tool to assess site vulnerability. For example, Auckland Council offers the Flood Viewer with area-specific mapping – simply enter your address to see your exposure to flooding and coastal inundation. Earth Sciences New Zealand has also developed a nationwide flood hazard viewer. Different flooding types carry different risks and mitigation options, so learn which ones (if any) apply to your premises. It's about understanding the source of the risk. For instance, river flooding is largely beyond your control but its impact can be reduced by, for example, not storing things in flood plains that could be picked up by floodwaters and cause blockages. Overland flow paths, on the other hand, can often be managed or mitigated.

If you're leasing, talk to your landlord. Ask what flood mitigation measures are already in place for the building and site. The lease may affect what you can and cannot do to protect your premises, so get clarity in writing on who is responsible for building-level mitigation, tenant improvements and repairs after an event.

If you own the building, order a LIM and review the property file. These documents may reveal flood-related history (depending on what has been reported, legacy council systems, etc) and any legal notices attached to the title.

Commission a flood-risk assessment if your exposure is unclear. A suitably qualified flood-risk professional can assess your specific site beyond what a regional or national flood viewer shows. With insurers increasingly applying individual property risk ratings rather than regional averages, proactive mitigation puts you in a stronger position to negotiate terms and retain cover.

Keep water moving off the building and site. Clear gutters, downpipes and surface drainage channels before and during the storm season. Auckland Council advises keeping drains clear of litter, debris, leaves and rubbish, and avoiding planting near underground pipes where roots may cause blockages. Blocked drainage is one of the most common causes of preventable flood damage.

Keep overland flow paths clear. An overland flow path is the route water takes during heavy rainfall. Blocking these paths – with fences, sheds or raised ground – can cause flooding on your site or your neighbour's. Identify any overland flow paths on your site using the relevant regional or national flood viewer and determine how water can flow unimpeded.

Landscape to direct water away from your building. Contour driveways and paved areas so water flows away from doorways. Maintaining a step up between outside and inside is one of the simplest preventive measures. If there are areas that concern you, speak to your landlord about them.

Make the building exterior weathertight. Ask your landlord or building manager to inspect roofing and flashings, as well as seals around pipes, windows and door frames. A building survey is the most thorough way to identify vulnerabilities and create a prioritised remediation list.

Source and store temporary flood barriers. Passive and activated barriers may provide meaningful protection at building entry points most vulnerable to flooding. Keep them on site and ensure key staff know where they are and how to deploy them. It is also important to understand when to use them – flooding in the Auckland region can start very quickly, so barriers need to be installed proactively; by the time heavy rain arrives, it might be too late.

Elevate critical equipment and high-value stock off the floor. Get Ready advises moving valuable and dangerous items – including electrical equipment and chemicals – as high above the floor as you can when flooding is possible. Even modest elevation can prevent loss in a minor flood.

Raise electrical points and essential equipment permanently where you can. For sites located on flood plains, Auckland Council suggests placing electrical sockets higher up walls to minimise damage. Installing circuit breakers that separate power supply between floors means a ground-floor flood doesn't take out electrics on upper floors.

Create and store a current asset inventory to support an insurance claim. Photograph all stock, equipment and assets, and record serial numbers, purchase dates and estimated values. Store this securely off-site or in cloud storage, as a lost or water-damaged inventory slows your insurance claim significantly and can reduce the amount you can claim.

Back up critical business data to the cloud. Business.govt.nz identifies data backup as a core step in any business continuity plan. Back up financial records, customer data, operational systems and any other information the business can't function without. Confirm backups are current and test recovery, because an untested backup is not a backup.

Store copies of key documents somewhere you can access from anywhere. Insurance policies, lease agreements, supplier contacts, banking details and financial records should all be accessible remotely. If you can't get into your premises, you still need to be able to lodge a claim, pay staff and contact suppliers.

Plan for backup power, with options ranging from battery packs for staff devices through to generators or solar-and-battery systems that keep your business running.

Check your business interruption cover and indemnity period. Business interruption insurance should cover both lost revenue and ongoing costs when a material-damage event forces your business to close. Check the indemnity period – how many months of lost income your policy will cover – against the realistic time it would take to recover from a major flood.

Confirm whether your policy includes flooding. And then check wording 'flood' versus 'water damage'. Some commercial policies distinguish between flood (external water from rainfall, rivers or the sea) and water damage (the most common source is from leaky roofs). Cover for one may not mean cover for the other. Ask your broker to confirm in writing exactly what your policy covers, as not all policies include natural and/or climate-related hazards.

Review stock and contents cover. Is your stock insured at replacement cost or book value? Does your cover reflect seasonal stock variation? If your retail inventory peaks before Christmas, a policy set at average annual levels could leave you significantly underinsured at the worst possible time.

List major equipment and machinery at current replacement value. Commercial fridges, POS systems, servers, kitchen equipment and specialised machinery should be itemised and insured at what it would cost to replace today, not what you originally paid for them. Replacement costs have risen significantly since 2023.

Understand your landlord versus tenant insurance boundary. If you lease your premises, your landlord will often insure the building fabric, but responsibilities vary by lease, so confirm this in writing. You are responsible for contents, fit-out, stock and business interruption. Get this boundary confirmed in writing, along with who pays which excess in the event of a claim.

Review annually, especially after a market shift. Insurers are increasingly moving from regional averages to individual property risk ratings. This means proactive mitigation can affect your terms. And equally, doing nothing can see your premium rise or cover withdrawn. An annual review (by you or your broker), with up-to-date asset values and any mitigation work documented, is essential.

Set a clear chain of command. Decide in advance who makes the call to close the premises, who contacts staff, who speaks to customers and suppliers, and who is the backup for each role. Business.govt.nz recommends identifying internal decision-makers and planning for who would run the business if you or another key person were unavailable.

Keep contact details current and accessible from anywhere. Compile a list of contact details, including an alternative contact, for each staff member, customer and supplier, and keep copies in both electronic (cloud-based) and paper format, with a reminder to check the details periodically.

Assign emergency roles before you need them. Who handles physical building tasks – elevating stock, deploying barriers, turning off utilities? Who manages communication with customers, suppliers and the insurer? Who is responsible for data, IT and systems? Document these roles so they don't rest solely in the business owner's head.

Know your employment law obligations. New Zealand employment law is clear: if staff are ready and willing to work and you direct them not to – including when you close the business – you generally need to pay them their ordinary wages. Get advice from an employment lawyer or Employment New Zealand before assuming you can stop paying your staff.

Brief all staff on the plan and practise once a year. Business.govt.nz recommends testing the plan with staff at least once a year using short scenario-based exercises – 20 minutes is enough. Focus on managing the consequences (What do we do if we can't open for a week?) rather than the specific cause of disruption.

Identify a temporary premises option in advance. This could be a co-working space, an arrangement with a supplier or customer, or a reciprocal agreement with a nearby business in a different part of Auckland. Ask your key suppliers, customers and even competitors in advance whether they could spare room in their premises in an emergency. After the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011, two panel-beating businesses kept operating through informal arrangements with nearby businesses.

Identify what parts of your business can run remotely. Could staff use home computers and mobile devices for administration, invoicing, customer contact and supplier communication? Business.govt.nz recommends identifying which staff have suitable personal devices in advance, and notes that businesses can help cover internet and related costs.

Identify backup suppliers before you need them. Supply chain disruption after a major weather event often extends well beyond your own premises. If your primary supplier is also flood-affected, having a secondary option pre-identified – even just a contact relationship with a quote already obtained – can significantly shorten reopening time. This is particularly important for stock, raw materials and specialised equipment with longer lead times.

Plan your customer communication now. Draft messages for your website, social channels and key customer emails that can be adapted and sent quickly. Customers are significantly more forgiving of closure when they know you have a plan and how to reach you.