Some Far North whānau are still struggling to access shelter, water and food after last week’s severe weather.
Mayor Moko Tepania said the council needed to ensure those people were safe, fed and had a roof over their heads before focusing on long-term recovery.
He visited Whirinaki yesterday, where nine families had been displaced by last week’s weather and heavy rains overnight on Sunday.
The aftermath was “bloody heartbreaking”, Tepania said.
However, he was proud of the local leadership helping others.
“The aunties and uncles in every community who are on the ground just making sure people are safe and co-ordinating with us in council to get help where it’s needed.”
Tepania said the council needed more time to assess the severe weather event’s impact before bigger conversations about recovery could be had.
He was concerned about the Far North’s infrastructure. Fifty-seven local roads and six state highway locations had been closed at the storm’s peak.
“Guaranteed there’s going to be another big storm that’ll hit us at some point in time,” Tepania said.
“The main priority now is responding and looking after whānau with immediate welfare concerns here and now, and then we’ll enact what does our recovery plan look like to get ready before the next one comes.”
Tepania said the council would have an “honest, decent look” at weak points and evaluate what needed to go into the National Land Transport Fund to ensure critical links are resilient.
Land stability was another worry for Tepania, with the whenua fragile and winter on the way.
“It’s going to take maybe a week or two weeks to assess the impact of this, septic clear outs, kai, water pump damage and all of that sort of thing,” he said.
“We will get through this.”
Tepania said community feedback had been crucial for council to understand the impact and know where to put resources.
As to the cost to the district, Tepania said it was too early to say.
He said the council could access funding via the National Emergency Management Agency and seek temporary accommodation support, through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The Far North’s state of emergency will be reassessed tomorrow.
“There is support through our mayoral disaster relief fund to help those whānau out too,” Tepania said.
Whangārei lifted its state of emergency yesterday after conditions improved.
Mayor Ken Couper said the costs from severe weather events were mounting and were coming from the council’s operational budget.
He said “many, many millions of dollars” unbudgeted for were being spent.
“So that’s a constant thought in the back of our minds as we work our way forward.”
Couper said the Whangārei District Council had put a higher focus on preparedness rather than waiting for something to happen.
Kaipara District Mayor Jonathan Larsen said the district’s roading network had been most impacted last week but problems were “highly localised”.
“A small number of rural routes were temporarily impassable until water receded.”
A handful of slips mainly occurred on rural hill-country routes, Larsen said.
Two underslips required solutions at Houto and Babylon Coast Rd.
Larsen said the council considered resilience and climate adaptation in all its infrastructure planning and long-term planning.
“Recent network inspections after last year’s storms showed that earlier investment in repairing significant slips, as well as upgraded culverts, rock armouring, and improved drainage, has already reduced new damage across the district.”
New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi journey manager for Northland, Kingston Brands, said the long-lasting impact of the weather event was reduced because of ongoing resilience work.
New works performed well under the conditions at State Highway 1 at Mangamuka Gorge.
“These structures are doing exactly what they were designed to do.”
Brands said certain areas close to natural waterways remain vulnerable with no easy fixes.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.