Flood-hit townsfolk face long wait

Frustrations boil over as residents kept out of dry Edgecumbe homes

It’s a local government shambles again.

Some evacuated Edgecumbe residents could face a long wait to get back home. Residents with homes in dry zones were given access on Saturday for about 15 minutes to collect essentials but a cordon remained in place around much of the town.

Occupants of about 46 homes in the southeast have been told they can return home this morning. The homes, on Hydro Rd, Nikau Place, Miro Place and Konini Place, will have running water but no wastewater services and will be using Portaloos.

Whakatane mayor Tony Bonne said he hoped all residents could return to their homes by Easter.

Hundreds queued in Awakeri, Kawerau and Whakatane to register for the brief trip back at the weekend.

In Awakeri frustrated residents lashed out about being evacuated from dry homes as they waited in a slow-moving, 40m-long line.

Paul Mills said he felt “a very deepseated anger” at having to stay with relatives in Tauranga since Thursday despite his home being unaffected.

He said he felt as if he was in “an information black hole” amid what he considered to be poor communication from council staff.

Jonnie Joseph, whose home was also unaffected, said he believed information about the floodwater levels was wrong and the registration process too slow. “It’s a local government shambles again.”

Today Education Ministry representatives will be at the Civil Defence Centres in Awakeri, Whakatane and Kawerau to support parents with school and holiday arrangements.

On Saturday night angry residents stormed out of a public meeting as tempers flared about access.

Hundreds of displaced residents had gathered at the Whakatane Wall Memorial Hall. Some questioned the management of waterways before and during the disaster.

Bonne said the residents’ response

Jonnie Joseph, Edgecumbe resident