Salvage work hampers volunteer firefighters

A digger at work as the clean-up continues under the threat of more rain at Matata. Picture / Fotopress

Rain hampered clean-up efforts and put residents back on alert in flood ravaged Matata yesterday.

The Bay of Plenty town's volunteer firefighters were standing by as heavy rain lashed the district in the early afternoon, and eventually residents, who had gone in to try to salvage possessions, were ordered back out.

A dedicated team led by Civil Defence has been co-ordinating the clean-up of Matata, where last Wednesday's flooding led to a state of civil emergency and left a trail of destruction amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

Chief fire officer Brian Dobson said the volunteer firefighters had been helping residents clean up but had to wait until silt and debris was cleared before washing down properties.

"There's so much mud, sand and stuff on their sections and on the kerbs ... we can't wash it away because we don't want to add to the problem with water."

The brigade was taking requests from residents and assigning crews to help.

Mr Dobson said the community was "mucking in" together, using tractors, front-end loaders and small diggers to clear properties.

"We've been [tackling] some of those jobs, making sure we expose the sceptic tank mushrooms, getting to places diggers can't reach and at times using our water to clear culverts that are blocked. It's just a waiting game for us in a lot of cases."

Work at Murphy's Holiday Camp, where a number of caravans were washed out to sea, was halted by rain yesterday.

Two tractors had been brought in to clear mud, and water that was pumped out on Saturday was being replaced in the fresh downfall yesterday, she said.

"The rain is coming quite quickly [creating] huge puddles again."

Mud, rocks and trees were being moved to a "huge hole" at one end of the camp created by the flood.

Matata's 22 volunteer firefighters have been working almost around-the-clock since last Wednesday, said Mr Dobson.

Part of their job had involved helping police to patrol road blocks and keep an eye out for looters.

"We've maintained with the police a watch on the town at night. During the day we've set [road blocks] and stopped people to make sure they are residents returning or going and no one else who is not supposed to be here."

Mr Dobson said people had been seen scavenging through property that washed up across the lagoon.

"There's property strewn all over the place. People have been coming along the beach and sifting through property ... and grabbing all manner of things."

The Matata resident of 55 years said he had never seen such devastation.

He was pumping out his own garage when the deluge hit on Wednesday.

"We weren't expecting anything like this. Suddenly we got multiple calls from the west end of the town.

"I went down there and by the time I arrived there was water rushing across the road. I talked to some of our crew there and saw cars starting to come out of properties and spinning around across the road.

"Next thing, there're caravans coming across, all manner of stuff being swept across the road."

Fire fighters started evacuating residents, taking them to the centre of town.

"Once we'd done that we felt helpless. I said to the crew, 'Don't go into there, you're going to end up as a casualty'. The torrent was going fast and all sorts of stuff coming through it. It was starting to get dusk and that house that moved 300 metres went past. We couldn't believe what was going on."

The Matata crew worked with firefighters from Edgecumbe and Whakatane to rescue people.

A rope line was stretched across a breach of water almost waist-deep to guide people across.

The firefighters could see a torch shining in a nearby house and sent a man tied with a rope along with the current until he reached debris piled against the house, said Mr Dobson.

"He got up on that. We found a stepladder that had been caught up in some of the debris and sent another chap across with the ladder and set it up against the building and we got three women and a man out of that house. We virtually carried them across that rope stretch."

Counting the cost

$50 million estimated damage in the Bay of Plenty

TAURANGA FLOOD DAMAGE

412 homes inspected
25 uninhabitable
25 can be repaired

LANDSLIP DAMAGE

92 homes inspected
84 uninhabitable
76 can be repaired
16 irreparable/condemned

TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION

61 people in temporary accommodation

MATATA FLOOD DAMAGE

93 homes inspected
47 homes uninhabitable
20 repairable
7 homeowners can return today

STATE OF EMERGENCY

A state of civil emergency exists in Matata although Civil Defence hopes to lift it at 9am today.

WATER SUPPLY

Water is safe to drink in Tauranga but must be used sparingly. The Mt Maunganui reservoir is still not working.
There is still no water supply in Matata but residents can obtain water from two tankers at the Matata Fire Station, where there are also portaloos and a generator. Matata residents still in their homes are asked to boil all drinking water.
Edgecumbe residents are asked to restrict their use of toilets and not use dishwashers, washing machines or have baths and showers.

CONTACT NUMBERS

Helpline 0800 779-997 (for housing, Work and Income, Inland Revenue, insurance and general support)
(07) 571-8008 (Tauranga call centre)
(07) 577-7000 (Tauranga call centre)
(07) 306-0500 (Whakatane District Council, for eastern Bay of Plenty residents)
In an emergency, phone 111

INSURANCE AND ASSISTANCE

The Insurance Council has moved extra teams of assessors into the Bay of Plenty. They ask that affected people file claims as soon as they can, and keep damaged property in a safe place as far as possible, for assessment.

MAYORAL RELIEF

A joint mayoral relief fund has been set up for the Whakatane, Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty districts. Donations can be made at National and BNZ banks. More than $250,000 has already been raised.