Central Hawke's Bay state of emergency lifted

Tutaekuri River after heavy rain. File photo / Hawke's Bay Today

A state of emergency in central Hawke's Bay declared following heavy rain last week has been lifted this morning.

The extreme weather caused flooding and slips in the region, shutting off beachside towns and forcing the evacuation of dozens of residents.

Central Hawke's Bay Civil Defence local controller Te Aroha Cook told NZPA today the state of emergency was lifted at 8am as it was now safe for people to return to their homes.

"The reason we declared (a state of emergency) was purely for the safety of people, particularly when they are isolated and we need to get in and enforce everyone to evacuate.

"We have since been in to all our communities and because we have been able to assess the nature of the risk, it's got to a level were it is safe to have everyone back."

She said Civil Defence today would reassess 60 homes and caravans red carded in Pourerere Beach, which are being threatened by unstable hillsides.

Ms Cook said based on a geotech report that arrived last night, only 10 homes and caravans would still be red carded today, and the rest would be given a yellow card.

Red cards were for imminent danger and yellow cards were for problems such as sewerage problems.

The strip from Cape Kidnappers down to Blackhead has been heavily damaged, Rural Support East Coast Trust executive Mike Barham told NZPA.

The 130km-long strip included the coastal communities of Blackhead, Aramoana, Kairakau Waimarama, and Ocean Beach, and 23 adults and five children were registered at a civil defence welfare centre after being evacuated.

Mr Barham said that about 50 of the 100 farmers affected had suffered severe damage to pasture, fences, and other farm assets.

Parts of Hawke's Bay were hit by record rainfalls during April -- more than 300 per cent of normal levels for the month -- and most of the rain fell between April 26 and 28.

The hardest-hit farmers have asked Agriculture Minister David Carter to declare a "medium scale" disaster.

A Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry spokesman yesterday said that advice on it would be flowing to the minister over the next few days.

Over the weekend, the district's mayor, Peter Butler, Mr Carter, and Wairarapa MP John Hayes surveyed the damage by air.

"We'll be battling to get the medium-scale event because while the damage is catastrophic for these 50-odd farmers, it is not over a huge geographical scale."

The positive side was that many other farmers had benefited from a "lovely 120mm" of rain, and would be in a position to help their colleagues.

Mr Barham said Taskforce Green workers would be used to clear fences and shovel silt around low-lying areas close to roads.

As the soils dried out over the next few weeks out, farmers from the region with experience on the "difficult" hill country would help put up temporary fencing which could contain animals until permanent repairs could be done in the spring.

Mr Butler said that after seeing the devastation at first hand, he had set up a central Hawke's Bay Mayoral Relief Fund.

- NZPA