Edgecumbe flood as bad as Kaikoura quakes, says Prime Minister Bill English

Prime Minister Bill English has described the Edgecumbe flooding as on par with the devastating Kaikoura earthquakes as it is confirmed some people have lost their homes.

Mr English visited the town and its Fonterra factory on Friday morning after floodwaters swamped the area yesterday, forcing about 2000 residents to flee their homes.

Mr English said there was still flooding and a lot of water in the town's lower part.

"It's at least as significant as the events in Kaikoura and for the people affected, it's huge."

The flood had ''quite serious consequences'' for many households and many people would need ongoing support.

"A good number of them will not know if their homes are flooded or not."

Mr English there were no cost estimates at this stage because there was still a risk of further breaches.

"There's going to be significant costs," he said.

There were about 900 empty homes and some were a "complete loss".

"There are people whose lives have been completely changed in the past 24 hours," Mr English said.

"This is a severe disruption for thousands of people."

Mr English said there should be a full investigation.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council duty flood manager Roger Waugh said some people would not be able to return home.

"This is a 30 per cent bigger than a 100-year event," he said.

Mr Waugh said the flood happened after a concrete wall that was part of the town's stop bank was pushed from its foundations, ending up in the middle of the road.

There are people whose lives have been completely changed in the past 24 hours.

Prime Minister Bill English

Mr Waugh said he hoped workers could fix the stop bank Friday afternoon.

Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne said controlling the floodwaters was the first priority and food was being delivered into affected areas.

East Coast MP Anne Tolley said: "It's very clear we are going to have to support a significant number of people for quite some time."