Prime Minister Christopher Luxon travelled to Wairoa to meet with the mayor and victims of the floods.
Video / NZ Herald
More than 50 families and residents in flood-hit Wairoa have applied for temporary housing through the Government’s Temporary Accommodation Service during the first three days of it kicking in.
Hundreds of other properties were affected by floodwaters and the Government is urgently reviewing the flood response, including the regional council’s management of the Wairoa River mouth and bar.
The accommodation service (TAS) helps displaced people with damaged homes find temporary accommodation after an emergency such as an earthquake, flood or cyclone.
Registrations for the service opened on Tuesday - two weeks after the flood. Initial accommodation support for flood victims is largely the responsibility of Civil Defence and other emergency agencies.
TAS head of accommodation response Fadia Mudafar said, as at Friday morning, they had received 51 registrations for temporary housing. One registration can include an entire family.
A shortage of accommodation in Wairoa has made finding housing challenging.
Some temporary accommodation is still being occupied by displaced residents from Cyclone Gabrielle in February last year.
Mudafar said TAS was working hard to find suitable housing.
Aerial view of the lower part of Wairoa township and the Wairoa River mouth and bar 10 days on from the floods. Photo / Paul Taylor
“TAS has been able to successfully procure a small number of commercial accommodation options, such as private rentals in the Wairoa region.
“There is also commercial accommodation in surrounding regions, including Mahia, Napier and Gisborne.
“However, the strong preference from the Wairoa community is for relocatable accommodation options that will allow whanau to remain on their whenua, and TAS is focused on procuring options such as motorhomes and cabins and is working alongside the district council to streamline the deployment of these options.”
Mudafar said once households were registered, and all the required documentation provided, TAS would assess whether they were eligible for TAS accommodation.
“Only once a household’s eligibility has been confirmed and accommodation that suits their needs is found, TAS can offer households accommodation.”
Tātau Tātau is a post-Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlement governance entity that represents hapu around Wairoa and works in the community.
It bought the Mahia Holiday Park this year and Ratapu said they had helped families affected by the latest floods with a temporary place at the holiday park.
“We are using the camp as temporary accommodation now for families,” he said.
“We have been [helping] some families out to Mahia motor camp, those who want to go out there, as most want to stay in town.”
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
