Inquiry ordered into flood mayhem

The Earthquake Commission said it received claims of approximately $10 million. Picture / Alan Gibson

An independent inquiry will be held into the flood and landslide problems that laid waste to parts of Tauranga this month.

Mayor Stuart Crosby said yesterday he should be able to announce next week details of the scope of the investigation and who would carry it out.

Geological experts from outside Tauranga would be asked to assess the likely factors which contributed to the damage. Preliminary findings on the worst-affected properties should be known within three months, he said.

But it could be up to six months before a final verdict was available on the stormwater system.

If some sites were shown to be unsafe to rebuild on, Mr Crosby said the council could buy the land at market price, possibly for reserves, to help compensate property owners.

The mayor and council officials held talks yesterday with representatives of the Earthquake Commission and the Insurance Council.

The commission said it had received about 570 claims with an estimated cost of $10 million. About 100 of the claims were from Matata and nearly all the rest from Tauranga, mostly from the suburbs of Otumoetai and Welcome Bay.

Mr Crosby said the three bodies wanted to work collaboratively through the restitution phase.

The state of civil defence emergency has been lifted at Matata in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Whakatane District Mayor Colin Holmes made the call mid-afternoon yesterday, almost two weeks after floodwaters and landslides ravaged much of the small coastal settlement between Te Puke and Whakatane.

State Highway 2 from Matata to Tauranga has been reopened to all traffic and large machinery is gradually being moved out of the township as the clean-up progresses.

At Tauranga, emergency work is continuing to make sites safe and get people back into their homes.

City council spokeswoman Elizabeth Hughes said the council had had more than 120 offers of accommodation for people driven from their houses.

Some rugby tickets, supplied by the New Zealand Rugby Union, were still available for flood victims to attend the opening of the Lions tour in Rotorua on Saturday.

Flood update

Matata

* 27 out of 114 houses affected by the May 18 floods declared unsafe. A further 27 need repairs before they can be re-occupied.

* The second storey of 14 houses are suitable for living in and 15 other houses have restricted use.

* About 30 evacuees are still staying at Matata's Rangitihi Marae.

Tauranga

* Three more properties reoccupied yesterday. Three houses waiting to be demolished.