Paul Wiley describes his Waimarama property as "a bomb site" after a wall of water swept through, taking caravans, trees and debris with it.
The 64-year-old was woken at 1am on Wednesday last week by the sound of the torrent rushing through his Waitangi Rd property.
"I just heard a big roar,and a big wall of water came down with a lot of trees in front of it," he said.
"There was nothing I could do, I couldn't get out. All I could do was wade through the water up to my armpits and get my dog and sit and wait."
Mr Wiley's dog, Blackie, which had been tied up outside, was struggling to keep above water. "He was swimming but he was on a chain, and he was running out of chain."
Neighbouring caravans, which were unoccupied, were swept away in the flood.
The water rose to just 10cm from Mr Wiley's house, and once the water had receded, he was trapped for two days until the driveway was cleared.
His property was left covered in silt, and tools and machinery kept in a shipping container were destroyed. Only his car was insured.
"My place is a bomb site," he said. "The place is about a metre and a half or two metres in sand and silt.
"Even the back paddock, it's just full of silt and rubbish and debris and trees."
Mr Wiley said it would be a long clean up for Waimarama, but he would be sticking it out. "I'm not leaving, no way."
