A lifetime of memories washed away

By STEPHEN COOK

Ray Burton built his home with his own hands. Now much of it is barely poking above a metre of water.

A lifetime of memories is gone ... the home he shared with his wife now resembling a watery tomb.

"It's just devastating," he says, tears welling in his eyes.

Mr Burton is just one of hundreds in Awatapu Drive and neighbouring streets who face bleak futures after the weekend floods which dumped hundreds of millimetres of rain on the Bay.

Awatapu is probably the worst hit area in the eastern Bay. Most of the 200 families have been evacuated and face at least another night in emergency shelters. The deluge has cut a watery swath through once manicured gardens. Letterboxes and fences have been destroyed and floodwaters have swallowed up street signs and the neighbourhood playground.

Inside, carpets are waterlogged, furniture and treasured mementoes are floating in raw sewage and many of the floors are beyond repair. Homes like Mr Burton's will have to be torn down. The damage is likely to run into the millions.

Just a few kilometres from the Whakatane township, Awatapu is unashamedly working class New Zealand, home to hundreds of low-to-middle-income families. Families with mortgages, bills to pay. Many are on benefits. Some have lost everything.

The average house price in the area is $130,000. Many people live in Housing Corporation accommodation.

They are a resilient bunch, but this latest ordeal has tested their mettle.

"I have no idea how some people are going to recover from these floods," Mr Burton says. "It's just a case of taking things a day at a time."

Beneficiary Karamea Tukukino is one of the lucky ones, but she knows how tough it will be for others in her street.

"Many of us are living in Housing Corporation homes. We don't have a lot as it is," she says.

"It's certainly going to be difficult."

John Johnstone said he felt for his neighbours who were not insured. They were going to have "a hell of a time recovering from this".

"These people are just working folk, ordinary New Zealanders. This is the last thing they need."