“The ground is saturated.”
Cave’s flight over Tairāwhiti this week was cut short by bad weather, but still allowed enough time to see a significant number of landslide dams — areas where land had collapsed and blocked waterways.
These dams tended to be unstable, he said, and could fail instantaneously.
“That can pose a risk for downstream areas. If it fails, you’ve got a whole lot of water going down.”
There was also bad news for a “significant number” of Makorori Beach Rd homeowners who received red stickers this week, Cave said.
The far end of that road could be put under Category 2 while further evaluation was undertaken.
GNS was now looking into those properties, and a structural engineer had been called in for extra assistance.
“It’s getting a bit larger than what we can cope with for just one person.”
Meanwhile, properties in Valley Rd and Darwin Rd have also been red stickered this week.
Cave said one of the main issues facing the region was that it hadn’t had a chance to properly dry out since Cyclone Hale and Cyclone Gabrielle.
Water tables were dangerously high, and in many cases, there was nowhere for excess water to drain to.
The level of damage to much of the rural sector was still unknown, he said.
He urged those who hadn’t yet informed the council of damage to their property to do so immediately.
Gisborne District Council’s principal scientist Murry Cave has one word to describe the state of the region — fragile.