Tasman residents relieved as latest storm passes, recovery expected to cost millions
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
A Tasman woman says she is "at peace" with the prospect she may never return home after she was forced to flee aboard her neighbour's tractor during last week's storm.
She is one of many wearied locals at the top of the south who avoided further strife on Thursday, when another bout of heavy rainfall came and went without any dramatic exacerbation of the existing post-flood crisis.
It leaves the region with a monumental recovery following the storm, dubbed by local authorities as a "one-in-100 year event ".
Sarah Jacobs was preparing to go to work last Friday before the nearby Motupiko River burst its banks and engulfed her Korere home.
"There was water around us, there was no getting out," she said.
She and a friend escaped when her neighbour arrived in his tractor amid the raging torrent.
"That was the last I saw of my home. I had to leave my five cats inside," Jacobs said.
Upon returning home, she discovered she had lost most of her possessions.
"Going home for me personally was heartbreaking. If there was a bigger word to use, I'd use it," she said.
"Mud and silt met me as soon as I opened the door and a good foot of water has gone through there. I have nightmares of what my cats went through.
"I've lost a lot, all my furniture is to be thrown away."
Recovery from the storm is expected to cost millions.
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
In the interim, her cats were being sheltered temporarily at the SPCA.
After "running on adrenaline" over the past week, Jacobs admitted she was starting to tire.
She told RNZ she had accepted that she may never return to the same house.
"Long-term going forward, I can't rebuild where I am. Both my neighbour and I realise that," she said.
"My place has been standing for 40 years.
"I've been making peace myself this week that I can't return there to live. I hope I can restore it as a summer bach or something."
Rural Support Trust Nelson/Tasman chair Richard Kempthorne said the recovery for the hardest hit would "take years".
"Clearing silt and debris is probably at the top of the list," he said.
"That's from farmland, horticulture and orchards.
"Any streams that have been blocked need to be cleared, culverts need to be cleared, roads need to be repaired. There's a huge amount to do."
Rural Support Trust Nelson/Tasman chair Richard Kempthorne.
Photo:
RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Earlier this week, the government unlocked extra support for flood-affected farmers and growers, making up to $100,000 available to support and co-ordinate recovery efforts.
Kempthorne said the recovery would "cost millions of dollars".
Energy levels among those impacted could also be waning, following an initial burst of energy during the initial emergency.
"They'll potentially be feeling a bit flat," Kempthorne said.
"Thinking 'my goodness, where do I start?'. That's the biggest challenge for people to be able to actually look at the damage they've got and think 'what can I do, what do I need to do and where do I need to focus?'".
Whilst people tend to their properties, officials were already closely looking at the frailties in the emergency response.
Thursday's phone and internet outage in Golden Bay meant some people were unable to call 111.
It follows similar problems around Wakefield and lower Wai-iti over the past week.
Telecommunications company Chorus blamed the problem on a severed fibre-optic cable at Uruwhenua Bridge on State Highway 60, which knocked out connections to about 1100 homes.
Chorus told RNZ it was too soon to say what cut the cable, but it would be investigating.
Tasman mayor Tim King described the situation as "a bit of a bloody nightmare".
Tasman Mayor Tim King.
Photo:
RNZ / Samantha Gee
"Immensely frustrating for both the people affected and those who are trying to respond in terms of getting out messages and contacts.
"The impact of not having communications with both friends and family in these sorts of circumstances is more than frustrating and annoying.
"So many people rely on this system and it's something we're going to have to look hard at post this event."
For some spots at the top of the south, last month marked its wettest June since records began back in 1941.
MetService confirmed more than 250mm of rain fell in Blenheim across the month, whilst about 220mm fell in Nelson - a record for both areas.
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