Crucial meetings today will count cost of flood damage

As the flooded northeast coast of the North Island swings into recovery mode, meetings are planned today to establish the full extent of damage to the region.

As much as 3000ha of prime horticultural land may have been severely affected by a thick layer of silt after more than 300mm of rain fell in some parts of the region north of Gisborne from Friday.

Some of the flood damage has been compared to the devastation caused by Cyclone Bola in 1988.

Civil defence spokeswoman Sheridan Gundry said crop farmers, representatives from Work and Income and other agencies would assess the extent of the damage at a meeting this morning.

"They will be looking at how much of the crops will survive, and whether they will be able to plant at all this season," Ms Gundry said.

"There's a limited window of opportunity for planting."

The main crops affected were sweetcorn, squash and maize, and some salad crops and broccoli had also been ruined.

Another meeting will take place at Poverty Bay Flats this afternoon.

Both meetings will discuss the financial impact on the communities and reports will be submitted to Civil Defence Minister Rick Barker.

They will also organise clean-up teams to remove silt and repair fencing.

Stock losses were low, but one farmer lost 600 sheep - worth about $40,000 - in one paddock.

Former Gisborne mayor and civil defence controller John Clarke said a lot of the land would be reworked and replanted but some would not be able to be prepared in time for crops to meet their particular markets.

"Significant areas of cropping land on the Flats are affected," he said.

Two recovery teams went into the area yesterday and then met Mr Barker, who visited the region.

The teams included representatives from Work and Income, Federated Farmers, the Gisborne District Council and Civil Defence.

Gisborne civil defence officer Richard Steele said only three families from Tolaga Bay were still out of their homes.

"But there are others living in a sea of silt surrounding their houses."

Immediately after the deluge, Gisborne was cut off as roads flooded and in some cases fell away.

Civil defence controller Jon Davies said it was lucky the rain didn't last long, as another six hours would have changed the whole scenario.

"The Hikuwai River north of Tolaga Bay and the Waipaoa River out of Gisborne both came close to the flood levels of Cyclone Bola. But in this case the river went down quickly and drained quickly."

All state highways into Gisborne were open yesterday. A major slump that closed State Highway 35 between Ruatoria and Tikitiki has been repaired, allowing single-lane traffic.

Mr Steele praised the work of roading contractors.

"Fulton Hogan have performed an absolute miracle and they've got all our roads open," he said.

"We never thought we'd get the coast road open for a week, and they opened it to one lane last night. It's mind-boggling. And they got Napier [State Highway 2] open as well."

Silt had spread through a marae at Mangatuna, north of Tolaga Bay.

Most of its floors were sealed and could be cleaned but the floor of one room would have to be ripped up and replaced.

- NZPA