Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes in Westport as the town flooded on Friday night. Photo / George Heard
Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes in Westport as the town flooded on Friday night. Photo / George Heard
It's going to be a long road back to normal for flood-stricken Westport, with 1000 people unable to go home, a shortage of rental housing and streets still filled with filthy water.
Some there say their houses have "had it" and others don't know when they will get home toassess the damage.
Alongside the destruction of property - buildings, vehicles and treasured personal possessions - farmers at the heart of the Buller District have suffered stock losses.
One farmer lost around 700 animals after the Buller River rose to what some say were unprecedented levels.
The clean-up for the town with a population of just over 4600 will likely take months and it has been estimated "hundreds" of houses have been badly damaged.
Whole blocks of houses remain under massive amounts of water in Westport. Photo / George Heard
The majority of them are in the hardest hit area - Westport.
Yesterday the Government announced a $300,000 helping hand to Westport through a mayoral relief fund and a further $100,000 for the Blenheim-Marlborough region.
And a separate $200,000 has been committed for flood-affected farmers and growers across both areas.
'We're here to help' - Kris Faafoi
Acting Emergency Management Minister Kris Faafoi acknowledged the work that has already been done to help those on the ground and said the extent of the damage would be known over the next day or so.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Mike Yardley this morning, he said: "Today and the next couple of days, as the waters recede, we'll get a really good idea of just how much of a clean-up there is."
He said there is a "significant number" of people who will be out of their homes over the next few days as a result.
One challenge was making sure families whose homes have been flood-damaged had a place to stay while repairs were being carried out at their properties.
Officials are working closely with the Civil Defence, as well as the Defence Force, to ensure locals were taken care of in that regard, he said.
"We'll keep working with them to make sure they have everything they need."
Asked if he had a message for farmers, he said: "We're here to help."
"It was pretty good to get a lift down here, we couldn't walk it."
Henderson, like many, will be staying at the evacuation centre for the foreseeable future.
Yesterday, Faafoi, Agriculture Minister and West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor joined Buller District mayor Jamie Cleine for a flyover of the flooded area.
Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi in Westport. Photo / George Heard
Later, Faafoi thanked the efforts of emergency services and first responders.
He confirmed there were still about 1000 people who remained evacuated, with about 500 of them who still need welfare support, possibly for weeks and months.
Many of them were in Kainga Ora housing.
Cleine told the AM Show one of the main risk factors for the less affected homes was that a lot of the water that had flooded the houses had been contaminated with sewerage.
Although a number of houses would be cleared later today and people could return home, he said there were a significant number of properties that have been damaged and some beyond repair.
He said the town was "very anxious and concerned" particularly around where they would stay and he hoped to be able to provide some clarity for people around accommodation options later today.
There was a lot of planning going around accommodation and options were being worked on as rental accommodation in the area was already limited, he said.
"Certainly the rental property market is very limited and obviously worse now with the flooding."
Cleine early said nearby towns might be able to help with extra beds if needed.
O'Connor said the Buller River had never been so high, and emergency services had done incredibly well in difficult circumstances and were able to keep the death toll so far to zero.
Buller District Mayor Jamie Cleine. Photo / George Heard
Faafoi said building assessments will take place in the coming days, which will provide a better idea of who can return to their homes.
"It'll be more than a week. Probably many, many months. This is a big, large-scale event."
Across the district a boil-water notice remains in place and some roads are still closed.
The same goes in Marlborough, but just before midday yesterday all residents were able to return to their homes.
Marlborough mayor John Leggett told the AM Show that while the majority of the 900 people evacuated in his area had been able to return home, there had been significant damage to the roading network.
The Awatere Valley Rd has been washed out, a bridge had been destroyed in the Waihopai Valley and there was major damage to roads in the Marlborough Sounds.
It may take months to dry out and clean up Westport. Photo / George Heard
