Ten weeks in a caravan was about enough for Kate and Rob Pearce.
But there is now a bit of light at the end of the tunnel for affected Koitiata residents as they recover from June's storm.
Some homes at the top end of Wainui St were under water during the June 20 storm while the main road into the village was cut off for days. The Pearces have only just been able to move back in.
Water-damaged walls had to be replaced, painted and the low-lying rooms recarpeted.
"We've only been back in a couple of weeks," Mrs Pearce said. "We lived in a caravan for 10 weeks. It worked, but by 10 weeks we were getting really sick of it."
Mrs Pearce said Rangitikei villagers had been a great source of support over the past months.
"I will say that this village, they stick together. The village supported itself. We virtually had to for the first two days."
But there had been some hardship.
Mrs Pearce said her power bill had doubled for the two months since because of the driers they had to run.
"You adapt and you change with it, but there's no fingernails left."
She said she had applied for help from the mayoral relief fund.
"In that sense, the council have been pretty proactive," she said. "I'll give them credit for that."
The couple said they were lucky; having a septic tank on the property meant they had been more of a priority for repair. Mr Pearce said: "There's people that still can't get back into houses in Wanganui. I feel for those people."
Poor drainage around the area caused the homes to go under water. The village's residents hope for a council solution.
The Rangitikei District Council is eyeing options for a more permanent fix for drainage and culverts on Wainui St as part of a district-wide works programme. It may form part of an application to the NZ Transport Agency's emergency roading fund.