Flood-ravaged Edgecumbe residents rage at floodwater decision-making

Sunday, 9 April 2017

Whakatane mayor Tony Bonne fronts an emergency meeting with angry Edgecumbe residents.

Hundreds of displaced Edgecumbe residents have stormed out of a public meeting as tempers tipped over into anger on Saturday night.

The bleachers of the Whakatane War Memorial Hall were packed with families, children and elderly, many hugging and comforting each other as officials appeared unable to answer the most pressing questions.

On Saturday night, data emerged from the Te Teko river monitoring station that painted an alarming picture of how the flooding occurred.

Two diggers worked on repairing the breach in the stop bank that allowed the Rangataiki River to flood Edgecumbe.

Information from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's monitoring station showed water flowing through Te Teko at an extraordinary rate leading to the stopbank's failure.

**READ MORE:

Edgecumbe residents argue during a public meeting.

* Flood victims: 'We've had enough'

* Frustration over lack of alerts

Edgecumbe residents displayed a range of emotions at a public meeting after their town was flooded on Thursday morning.

* Sign to get out of Edgecumbe**

At midday on Wednesday, the river was flowing at 150 cubic metres per second. Within 24 hours the river had increased its flow to 850 cubic metres per second.

Edgecumbe - inside the flood cordon as media are shown work being done on the embankment.

The river level likewise rose from 2.5 metres to more than 6m when the wall collapsed.

Lorraine Hale spoke emotionally about the lack of warning – no alarms had sounded.

Some Edgecumbe residents weren't afraid to show that they're displeased with what happened and that they weren't alerted about the pending flood.

'I've got 27 people living with me with nothing but the clothes on threat backs,' she said. 'Where was the warning? If it had happened at night, I would be burying my grandchildren.'

One resident said he had lost his home in the last flood, in 2004. He was incredulous that no lessons had been learned.

Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne hosted a emergency meeting of displaced Edgecumbe residents in Whakatane Memorial Hall.

'It's a bloody disgrace. Nothing's been done. We're bloody sick of paying rates and getting nothing done. The people of Edgecumbe have had a gutsful.'

Ian Gourley, an Edgecumbe local, works in industrial accident investigation and has been analysing the data. The same accident, he said, should never have happened twice.

The increase in the river flow could have been caused by the Matahina Dam 'panicking' and releasing the spillway all at once, Gourley said. He questioned whether the spillway had been released at all before Wednesday, to ease pressure.

Edgecumbe resident Phil Taylor had also been studying the council data and shared concerns about management of the dam.

'The bottom line is they control the depth of the river with that dam.'

He said data showed the dam released water at midday on April 5, when there was a brief break in the rain.

'I think what happened is it stopped raining, and they tried to alleviate some of the pressure of the dam. The trouble is, it started raining again.'

The sharp increase in the river level showed there was more than rain driving the flow, he said.

'I want them to explain this sudden increase, at least 4 metres at Te Teko in 18 hours – until the wall actually broke.'

Knowing the tail-end of Cyclone Debbie was on the way, the dam should have already been emptied, he said.

Taylor put the question to the Whakatane District Mayor Tony Bonne at Saturday night's community meeting. 'It's notable there's no one from Trustpower is here.

'The depth at Te Teko peaked – were the taps open during that time at the dam?'

The crowd frequently heckled the speakers, and fuelled calls from the public about the lack of organisation.

An hour later, fewer than 100 people remained, with some long-time residents patiently waiting for their turn to take the microphone to vent, to suggest alternative courses of action, and to despair over what they said is a lack of communication from council and Civil Defence, and disbelief that such a flood could happen twice in just over 10 years.

Bonne promised a thorough inquiry into what had caused the flood.

Council crews had been working around the clock since Thursday to repair the breach in the floodbank, he said.

'I know you don't believe it, but we're here for you.'

Bay of Plenty Regional Council flood manager Roger Waugh said decades of data showed it was the highest flood recorded.

'We did what we could.'

Officials from Bay of Plenty Regional Council, the district health board, and the Ministry for Primary Industries fronted, including Mayor Bonne.

Chief among locals' concerns are irritation at the lack of alert that flooding was likely, that some people had been allowed to visit their homes to collect belongings while others hadn't, and how the flood had happened in the first place.

One resident who declined to be named said the meeting had done little to ease his concerns.

Given a chance to directly confront officials at the meeting, locals accused them of failing Edgecumbe.

'We are treated like second-class citizens and we pay high rates. We are not happy. This whole situation should have been prevented,' one woman said.

One girl sobbed into the microphone saying she just wanted to go home again, while another father stood up and said the mayor and his colleagues needed to sort their 's***' out.

It's estimated 70 per cent of homes in Edgecumbe have been affected by severe flooding, with the worst hit in low-lying areas expected to be condemned. Many have been shifted off their foundations.

On Saturday night, officials promised that for the small number of homes that were unaffected, residents could be escorted through the cordon to collect bare essentials.

However, they can't return for at least 10 days, because of a lack of electricity, water and working sewerage systems.

For those without accommodation, hubs have been set up at a Kawerau marae, at the Whakatane War Memorial Hall and the Salvation Army. Also, Red Cross staff are working round the clock taking in donations, and directing residents to where they can access help.

At the Whakatane hall on Saturday, it didn't appear anybody was planning on spending the night.

Many locals said they had friends and extended families sleeping on their couches.

The official line is that collecting financial donations is a priority, though unofficial stations across Whakatane are taking in food, clothes and bedding for when the displaced eventually get back into their homes.

On Saturday, SPCA officials were going door to door to check on animals left behind.

Bonne said crews had been working around the clock since Thursday.

'I know you don't believe it, but we're here for you,' he said.

'We've had 13 trucks working constantly at bridging that gap further, and strengthening it so we can weather the next lot of rain that's coming next week.'

Trustpower spokeswoman Suzi Luff in a statement defended the company's handling of water levels.

Trustpower started lowering lake levels on March 31, 'well before predicted rainfall' arrived, Luff said.

Between the rainfall peak of late evening Wednesday until 5pm on Friday, more water flowed into Matahina Dam than out, limiting flooding, Luff said.

'This resulted in approximately 20 per cent less water flowing down the river, during the peak of the flood than would have occurred if there were no dam in place.'

'The flood management plan for the Matahina Dam is designed to take 100 [cubic meters per second] off the flood peak. We exceeded this by taking off more than 110 [cubic meters per second].'

Any eventual inquiry would investigate why warning systems hadn't activated to alert residents to the need to vacate their homes, locals were told.