Dovedale residents cut off 16 days without water, power after devastating floods
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
Dovedale residents remain isolated and without basic services more than two weeks after floods first tore through the rural Tasman valley, with roads and bridges destroyed, homes damaged, and vital infrastructure still out of action.
Chunks of roads and bridges have been taken out by floodwaters in Dovedale, cutting off access for some, while sheds have been destroyed and paddocks have been inundated with thick silt. On Sunday, contractors were working to fill a large hole in Bests Bridge with mounds of dirt after it was damaged during the latest deluge.
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
Vicky Thorn has been without water for 16 days because the pipe connecting her home to the council's water supply was damaged in the
floods
that struck the region in June.
Her garage and front garden are full of mud, but she said it's impossible to clean up without water.
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
Further up the valley, Dove River has eaten into Thorn Road, and shards of tarmac have broken off and are lying in the mud.
It's too dangerous to drive on right now.
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
Vanita Anderson, who lives in Dovedale near Eden Valley Road, said she is still without power and water.
She said she cannot have showers or flush toilets. They have been collecting rainwater and boiling it.
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
"It is really stressful and you feel exhausted all the time because you're on edge thinking, oh gosh, what's next."
She said her neighbours have been affected, with some cut off by road.
Dovedale flood damage.
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
"It's the whole loss of power. Are you able to get in and out of the area? Seeing all the damage to the bridges, it really does stress you out," Anderson said.
Some residents told
RNZ
Civil Defence had done some helicopter drop offs to Dovedale residents last night.
John Drummond, another local, estimated about 100 properties were still without power. His land has been hit hard, with four major slips and a thick coating of gravel, silt and debris.
Photo:
RNZ/Ellen O'Dwyer
"The clean-up - I was just talking to my son - is what scares me," he said. "That's going to be a real big job."
Permanent boil water notices remain in place for Dovedale, Redwood Valley and 88 Valley, and a conserve water notice remains in force for the Dovedale community.
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