'Months' of recovery ahead: Kāinga Ora houses among worst affected in flood-hit Westport

Sunday, 18 July 2021

The extent of the flooding in Wesport on the West Coast in July 2021 is revealed in this aerial video.

About 1000 people are still unable to return to their homes in Westport after heavy rain and rising river levels caused widespread flooding in the northern West Coast.

Rising floodwaters led to the evacuation thousands of residents, plus the town’s medical centre overnight.

Have you been affected by flooding? Email reporters@press.co.nz

Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi travelled to Westport on Sunday and told media at a 3pm press conference that about 1000 people were still out of their homes in Westport.

Mayor Jamie Cleine said many were with friends and family but some would need support from welfare centres for at least another night.

“There's not a lot of beds … so some people are spending nights sitting around cafe tables, so it's not a long-term solution.

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“But they're safe and that was the overall objective … to make sure we didn't lose any lives and the moment we're confident we haven't.”

Many of the hardest hit streets were those with Kāinga Ora homes, he said.

Buller emergency operations centre controller Bob Dickson said building assessors were going through homes from Sunday afternoon to determine which were still habitable.

People were resilient, but support would be needed long-term.

Water surrounds Shelswell Rd on the edge of Westport after floodwaters inundated the area.

“We're looking at many, many months [of work] this is a big, large-scale event.”

Faafoi said the Government would provide $300,000 to the Buller District Council's mayoral fund and $100,000 to Marlborough's fund – another region affected by flooding, road closures and evacuations over the weekend.

Westport's housing issues would be “one of the challenges we'll work through” once the floodwaters had receded and the damage could be better assessed.

Flooded properties at the north end of Peel St in Westport.

It was clear there would be accommodation challenges for some time, but help was available. Faafoi said he wanted locals to know was if they needed help, “they should come and get it and those costs will be covered”.

The situation had been classified as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking another $200,000 for flood-affected farmers and growers across the West Coast and Marlborough.

“While it is too early to know the full cost of the damage, we expect it to be significant and this contribution will help communities to start to get back on their feet,” Faafoi said.

Part of Queen Charlotte Drive between Havelock and Cullen Point in the Marlborough region is washed away by flood water.

The red rain warning for the Buller region had lifted, but a heavy rain warning was still in force.

The town was left isolated after the Buller and Orowaiti river bridges were closed on Saturday, but both had reopened by early Sunday.

Army vehicles are operating in Westport as the bank of the Orowaiti River bursts.

Buller Emergency Management said a mobile phone alert sent to locals on Saturday evening advising those who had not been evacuated to shelter in place still applied.

The West Coast District Health Board said the Buller Health Medical Centre had to be evacuated on Saturday night due to rising floodwaters.

Staff, supplies, and 11 patients were moved to the Club Buller welfare centre on Queen St. Another six patients were accommodated in a makeshift ward at Club Buller.

Eight or nine patients would be taken by ambulance to Te Nīkau Hospital in Greymouth on Sunday, a West Coast District Health Board spokesperson said.

She was unable to estimate how long the Buller Health Medical Centre would be closed for.

“An assessment is being carried out on the Buller Health building later [Sunday] afternoon, regarding any damage due to flooding, so we will have more information on that later on.”

She said the patients had settled in well to their new surroundings.

A resident of Westport’s Brougham St paddles up his driveway during the July 2021 flood.

“Staff report that patients adapted to sleeping on mattresses on the floor and were enjoying porridge and toast for breakfast [on Sunday] morning.”

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Anyone needing health advice should call Healthline on 0800 611 116. If it was an emergency, people should dial 111. An urgent clinic was open at Coast Health from 11am to 1pm on Sunday.

A precautionary boil water notice had been issued for the Westport region and Carters Beach.

Those in Westport, Carters Beach and Punakaiki were also asked to conserve water.

Cleine appealed to Buller residents to stay calm, and look after themselves and their neighbours.

“We will get through this if we look after each other.”

A Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter was scheduled to deliver supplies to Westport on Sunday morning if weather conditions permit.

Wild weather caused flooding, tree felling and temporary closing of roads in Nelson, Richmond and Brightwater areas, on Saturday morning.

A New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson said 14 personnel from Burnham Military Camp were helping on the West Coast.

This included liaison officers in the Greymouth and Buller emergency operations centres, and soldiers helping evacuate homes using four Unimogs and one HX58 medium heavy operational vehicle.

Widespread flooding

Westport was not the only town faced with mandatory evacuations on Saturday, with heavy rains continuing across the top of the South Island and Wellington.

All of Spring Creek and Tuamarina townships north of Blenheim were evacuated after floodwaters went over a stopbank, but residents were able to return home from midday Sunday.

State Highway 1, including the Wairau River bridge, also reopened about midday. Evacuees were being reunited with vehicles stranded along the highway between Picton and Blenheim.

SH6 between Renwick and Havelock was not expected to open until mid-afternoon at the earliest, and SH63 was not expected to reopen for some days. Many local roads were still closed.

Deputy mayor Nadine Taylor said 900 people in 500 properties across Marlborough were evacuated on Saturday.

“Our stopbank network held up very well considering this is our largest ever recorded flood – a far bigger event than the previous biggest in 1983.”

Repair work to the river flood protection system started on Sunday, she said.

“Most importantly we'll be helping our community as much as possible, especially ensuring people can get back into their homes.”

Nelson region recovering from aftermath of flooding

The road to Golden Bay reopened on Sunday morning, although closures south of Tapawera remained in place.

Nelson mayor Rachel Reese was among those stranded in Blenheim, after attending a Local Government New Zealand conference.

Everyone was very understanding of the job at hand for the emergency response teams, she said.

“It’s a massive task, there has been extreme damage.”

At 6pm on Saturday, the Tasman District Council issued a boil water notice for Brightwater, Eighty Eight Valley and Tapawera due to the high levels of turbidity.

The notice expected to stay in place until at least Monday.

Tasman District Council spokesman Christ Choat said the region was now in “clean-up mode”.

Most roads had come through unscathed, however slips, mud and debris needed to be cleaned up.

For the most part people could move around the region – they just couldn’t get out, he said.