Rangatira Marae. Picture by David Pikia
Te Karaka people want to be able to evacuate safely when their town gets threatened again by floodwaters.
The community wants the level of the road at Nesbitt’s Dip raised, so they can drive to safety, rather than have to climb the big hill south of the town.
Rangatira Marae
stood like a resilient chief after the heavy rain hit the district.
The marae is across the river from Te Karaka township and is 300 metres from the riverbank of the Waipaoa.
It resembled an island in a lake during the flood and was saved by a stopbank that surrounds the marae, put in place after Cyclone Bola.
