Matata state of emergency continues

An attempt to shift mud from a Matata home. Fresh rainfall in the Bay of Plenty caused more evacuation in the township yesterday. Picture / Fotopress

The Cabinet will today consider a multimillion-dollar rescue package for the Bay of Plenty as heavy rains have again forced residents in one of the worst-hit towns to leave their homes.

In Matata, people returning to salvage possessions were last night evacuated as more rain fell. So far 426 people have had to be evacuated from their Matata homes and 15 people were re-evacuated yesterday.

This morning the state of emergency in Matata was extended until at least Wednesday after yesterday's rain set back cleaning and repair efforts.

Whakatane Mayor Colin Holmes said security and safety issues meant the state of emergency had to be extended.

"(There is a) major engineering effort going into opening roads and cleaning up and we need a little bit more time for that," Mr Holmes told National Radio.

Whakatane District Council has announced visitor passes will be required to enter the devastated town of Matata.

Residents, emergency services personnel and media will be eligible for the permits.

Both State Highway 2 and the railway through Matata remain closed.

Transit New Zealand area engineer Daya Govender said contracting staff had been making good progress clearing the highway until the heavy weekend rain pushed more debris on to the road.

In Tauranga last night, 160 residents met at the city council chambers to demand answers.

Some are waiting to hear if their homes will have to be destroyed, most are hoping to salvage at least some personal possessions, and all have insurance and financial worries.

"We are just in limbo now and have no idea how long before we will be able to go back, if at all," said Natt Dean, whose Otumoetai home may have to be torn down. More than $250,000 has already been collected by various mayoral relief funds and Cabinet will discuss a rescue package proposal today after an updated report on the situation across the Bay of Plenty.

Most of those attending the Tauranga meeting last night live in the city's worst-hit suburb, Otumoetai.

The meeting became heated at times as people demanded answers from the council, the Earthquake Commission, the Insurance Council and police.

 

"The kids went to school on Wednesday and by the time they came back their home was gone," said father of two Dave Greaves, whose home is almost certain to be condemned.

While Mr Greaves and his wife, Corinna, were lucky to escape serious injury, he said that was little consolation.

"I've got no baby photos or wedding photos. My father died a few months ago and all his possessions are now gone."

Mr Greaves said his biggest fear was that the house would be demolished without him having the chance to see if anything could be saved.

Latest council figures show 92 properties in Tauranga were damaged by slips. Of those 16 are rated category 1 and may need to be demolished. A decision is expected on those properties by Wednesday.

Engineers and health inspectors would begin the task of assessing the damage and risk of sewage contamination today.

During the meeting council recovery manager Terry Wynyard refused to answer questions from residents who claimed that the storm water infrastructure was inadequate, and that the authority had been warned about it.

He acknowledged the "absolute miracle" that no one was killed or seriously injured but said now was a time for recovery work, not finger-pointing.

"It was 285mm of rain in 24 hours and that's an incredible amount. We are aware our stormwater systems did not cope but we cannot deal with that at the moment. My priority is to get people back in their homes."