In a week of severe weather that has seen at least 5000 Auckland buildings damaged, council assessors have had their work cut out for them, with about 4000 building inspections carried out in the aftermath of last Friday's floods.
Up to 160 assessors have been on the ground each day, some visiting properties multiple times to update the stickers placed on buildings' front doors.
The Bayswater peninsula has some of the best views in Auckland, looking out across the Waitematā Harbour to the city centre.
But that is because many of its houses are perched in precarious positions high on cliffs.
On 27 January, the 32-room Ocean Breeze Hotel lost a chunk of its carpark to a slip that also claimed several large pōhutukawa.
Although the hotel itself escaped with only minor flood damage in its basement gym, building surveyor Matthew Dodd was concerned about its proximity to the slip.
On their first visit to the hotel on Monday, assessors had placed a yellow sticker on its door with instructions to prevent guests from staying in the rooms nearest the edge of the cliff.
On another visit on 3 February, while Dodd was fairly confident that the building was structurally intact, he said the property would require further analysis by geotechnical engineers.
While waiting for the engineers' report, the assessors decided to err on the side of caution and increase the out-of-bounds zone.
They also updated the yellow sticker, restricting access to about a quarter of the hotel's rooms.
"If you can ensure that all of your guests are relocated to other parts of the building, that would be much appreciated," Dodd told hotel staff.
"That will need to be done as soon as possible."
Around the corner from the hotel, assessors visited a home on the cliff edge where another big slip occurred.
Resident Germaine Joblin said her husband had just finished draining the pool when it happened.
"We were looking out in that direction, and it was sudden," she said.
"It was quick; it took all of one or two seconds, and the cliff and our mature pōhutukawa trees all vanished."
Although the ground slumped at the edge of her property, Joblin counted herself lucky that the house was set far enough back from the cliff.
Assessors placed a white sticker on her front door, meaning unrestricted access to the house, though with a warning to stay away from the boundary.
While Joblin was relieved, she said the slip had left her nervous about future weather events.
"It's a bit of an unknown, but we carry on regardless."
Back at the hotel after further rain throughout the day, Dodd decided to upgrade the yellow sticker once again in case more slips occurred.
This time, he restricted access to about half the hotel, meaning some of the guests would need to shift rooms.
Although it could create challenging situations to manage, Dodd said most businesses he visited were doing their best to keep occupants safe.
"The Aucklanders that have us attend their properties or buildings, they're glad to see us out on site - even for a bit of reassurance, providing them with a bit of guidance on the processes moving forward, and to let them know that we are looking into every building that's coming up on our list."
As of 3pm on 3 February, 234 red and 1298 yellow stickers had been issued to Auckland properties damaged by the flooding and severe weather of the last week.
