A whole week has passed since the great Napier flood: the Napier CBD as more than 230mm of rain was falling in the city on November 9. Photo / Paul Taylor
A whole week has passed since the great Napier flood: the Napier CBD as more than 230mm of rain was falling in the city on November 9. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Napier City Council is still unsure how many people remain displaced from their homes a week after the Napier flood, but at least 200 are thought to be still in emergency accommodation.
Mayor Kirsten Wise said 157 people were still accommodated early on Monday at Kennedy Park Resort, thepopular council-owned facilities established in 1937 as the Kennedy Park Motor Camp.
It has been estimated more than 200 are still out of their homes after the flood which saw 230mm of rain fall on Napier in the late afternoon and evening last Monday.
Wise said needs assessments were continuing and there would still be people who had self-evacuated and were living with families or friends, and may not have contacted the relevant services.
Mayor Kirsten Wise said 157 people were still accommodated at Kennedy Park Resort early on Monday.
Assessment of homes last weekend determined 102 are currently uninhabitable, with 214 having severe damage.
Government agency the Ministry of Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is understood to be looking at the use of relocatable homes, and looking for land on which they could be placed.
Wise confirmed that while details aren't yet available, the council would be requesting further assistance from the Government, which is already contributing $100,000 to the Mayoral Flood Relief Fund.
Public donations are also able to be made to the fund.
The criteria for applications to the fund is being worked on and should be available to allow people to start applying for assistance on Tuesday.
Wise was among those who got a first-hand look at the consequences of the deluge when she took part in Saturday's phase-one community clean-up.
She described it as "just heartbreaking" talking with residents, and seeing and hearing of the losses some had suffered.
She said there was more to be done, and people whose flood-damaged goods had not been collected should not be "feeling forgotten".
Wise remained confident the city's stormwater systems had functioned as well as they could have in the storm, given that the deluge was much greater than forecast and one of the most extreme in the history of Napier.
An aerial view of flooding in Napier after last Monday's deluges.
"We had no idea of the extent of the water we were going to get," she said.
No assessments are yet available on the costs of the storm damage, with the Insurance Council hoping it may have some details available, although it tends not to make accurate assessments within six weeks of such events.
Here is how you can donate to the Mayoral Relief Flood Response fund.
Meanwhile, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council on Monday reiterated warnings against swimming until water quality was assessed as safe. Further testing was taking place during the day and final results are expected on Wednesday.
