Napier mayor Kirsten Wise thought the numbers could be higher.
"That is the ones that we are aware of, so there will be a number of flood-affected - in particular private - residences that wouldn't have necessarily been reported through to council for any reason."
Napier as torrential rain began to pour on November 9. Photo / Paul Taylor
Large parts of Napier's water system are only built to deal with a one-in-five-year rain event - this year's was a one-in-250-year deluge.
Sewer manhole covers popped up in the worst-affected areas, releasing heavily diluted raw sewage into already flooded streets.
Napier had not been able to upgrade all of its systems since new regulations came into force in the 1990s.
Wise said the impact was difficult to cope with.
"We experienced an event far beyond what we within our network had the capacity to deal with ... so obviously there's no way we were ever were able to cope with a one-in-250 year event."
An aerial view of some of the flooding in Napier after heavy rains deluged the city in November. Photo / Supplied
Some buildings in the city were lucky to escape serious damage, but the MTG (Museum Theatre Gallery) was flooded, although no catalogue was hit.
The Centennial Hall by McLean Park would be closed for up to 18 months, Wise said.
The number of flood evacuees peaked at 173.
As of the end of last month, 147 people were still staying at the council's emergency accommodation with nowhere else to go.
Dee Penno from Hawke's Bay Properties looked after rental homes and said the aftermath of the floods had hit housing hard, especially with more tradespeople in town for flooding repairs.
"The motels are full from all the beneficiaries that can't find accommodation and tradies coming from Auckland to fix. There's just nothing to rent."
