'One hell of a cost': Storm could put Hawke's Bay farmers back two years

Farmers are bracing for the financial toll of recent floods. Photo Paul Taylor

Some farmers could be facing major economic hardship after two months of Hawke's Bay's heaviest rainfall on record, according to a farmer whose family property is among the wettest in the region.

According to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's monthly rain report, Pukeorapa Station, inland from Nuhaka, had almost a metre of rain last month – the highest recorded at any of the council's network of more than 40 stations from Te Urewera in the north to Porangahau in the south.

The impact is graphically highlighted in the HBRC monthly rain maps, the most densely below in the past six years, based on comparisons with monthly averages - in some cases last month was close to five times the March average.

The density of the blue across Hawke's Bay last month is unmatched over those six years, with only February and September 2018 coming close.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said the Hawke's Bay Rural Advisory Group has also been working with the Gisborne Rural Connectivity Group to help assist farmers in the storm recovery process. Photo NZME

Jared Tomalin, who works for parents and station owners Nigel and Deirdre Tomalin said there were eight straight days of rain at the end of the month, which brought 640mm – so constant that he "gave up" looking at the gauge.

The 1000-hectares station, which rises from sea level to about 680 metres, averages over 2.5 metres (2500mm) of rain a year, but according to the HBRC had 997.5mm last month, on top of 336mm in February – a total of 1333.5mm for the two summer months.

Slips closed access on Mangaone Road for 3-4 days, and Jared Tomalin said it was only today (Monday), with the road still only traversable with 4WD vehicles, that he'd been able to check the state of the farm.

There were slips, and fences that would need to be replaced, which he said would be among the bigger problems for some farmers because of the amount of work the rain of both February and March had created.

But he said it wasn't nearly as bad as other properties in the region, particularly further inland around Ruakituri and Tiniroto.

"At this stage, I'd say it's going to come as one hell of a cost across the district," he said. "There's going to be some economic hardship."

Across the district, it was being considered worse than Cyclone Bola, which dumped 7-800mm of rain on the area in 3-4 days in early-March, 1988.

The rain was above-average for both February and March across almost all of Hawke's Bay, among the higher readings being Waipoapoa, in Southern Hawke's Bay, which had 483mm last month, and 271mm in February.

In Te Urewera, Mt Manuoha peaked at 633.5mm to a total of 1071.5mm for the two months, in the Kaweka Ranges Ngahere had 536.5mm last month and 321mm in February, and in the Ruahine Ranges Parks Peak had a two-month total of 971mm, including 683mm in March.

At Te Pohue, there was 688.4mm for the two months, including 369mm in March.

In the flatter country and nearer the urban areas, Marumaru (northwest of Wairoa) had 660mm in March and 184mm in February, while Wairoa itself had 452.4mm last month for a February-March total of 651mm.

Napier and near-Hastings site Bridge P each had more in February than in March, Napier with 171.5mm and 144mm respectively and Bridge Pa with 158.4mm and 152.2mm, while Waipukurau had 134mm in February and 146.8mm last month.

An indication of the economic impact has come with an Insurance Council of New Zealand reflection on the impact of Cyclone Dovi which traversed the North Island and the top of the South Island on February 9-14. It said there had been 9767 claims at a provisional insurance cost of $44.43 million.

A regional breakdown was not available, but claims were received from Northland to the Buller district on the West Coast of the South Island.

Last year saw a new record set for general insurance pay-outs following extreme weather events at $324.1 million, the council says.

Jared Tomalin said that, like himself, many farmers will only just be starting to get the true picture of the damage to properties.

The same goes for the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Wairoa and Gisborne district council which HBRC chairman Rick Barker says have committed to work closely together, with other agencies.

"Our plan is to share resources and tools with joint management and coordination across the recovery, and each council's recovery managers leading the efforts in their respective districts," he said.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said the Hawke's Bay Rural Advisory Group has also been working with the Gisborne Rural Connectivity Group to help assist farmers in the recovery process, and Federated Farmers East Coast is organising a survey to farmers to establish needs, with webinars and meetings planned for next week.

Wairoa branch chairman Allan Newton said even the councils would have their work cut out, and it could take "two or three years to get on top of it all" with repairs to and protection of roads.

The threat of more rain amid changeable forecasts was a worry, but with a fine afternoon on Monday, he said: "Some farmers are already onto it. The diggers are out working, there aren't enough, some might splash out and get a new digger… but then after a couple of years the work's run-out for it."