Petone and other communities can't be protected against climate change, says insurer

Petone and other communities can't be protected against climate change, says insurer
Flooding in Udy Street, Petone, in 2016. (Image: Getty)
Greg Hurrell
New Zealand’s largest insurer says coastal communities such as Petone won’t exist in 30 to 50 years as the effects of a changing climate encroach on communities.Bryce Davies, who is the executive manager of corporate relations for IAG NZ, said the Lower Hutt suburb – a former independent borough bounded on three sides by the sea, the Hutt River and the Wellington fault line – faced multiple challenges from rising seas, liquefaction, tsunamis and flooding.Davies spoke at a Sept 20 panel on climate adaptation at the two-da...

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