200 homes in Westport may be uninhabitable
Campervans, portable homes or upgraded welfare centres are among the options being considered for hundreds of people whose homes may have been wrecked by flooding in Westport.
About 200 homes are expected to be deemed uninhabitable in the West Coast’s Buller district.
West Coast-tasman MP and Agriculture Minister Damien O’connor told Stuff an initial assessment of all flood-damaged properties was almost complete. Various options on rehousing residents were being considered, he said, including bringing in temporary housing. Many have been staying with friends, family or in emergency accommodation.
The homes would need to be stripped and dried out before being relined in a number of areas around the town because of water contamination, O’connor said.
Buller mayor Jamie Cleine previously told Stuff the town had long been dealing with a lack of available rental properties or houses for purchase which meant there were few homes available for flooded residents. Trade Me had one rental listed in the entire Buller district on Saturday.
Cleine said with ‘‘next to no available rentals’’ already, the concerns now were about finding somewhere for displaced families to live either medium or longterm while houses were repaired or rebuilt.
O’connor said this was the biggest flood event he had seen in Westport over his lifetime, saying it was a one in 100 year event.
‘‘No-one can ever remember the rivers being that high.’’
Some Westport residents who had to flee their homes returned on Sunday to find them flooded with water, up to waist-deep in some places, and their belongings floating past them.
Personal protection equipment (PPE) was being provided to those returning to their homes.
The Government announced $600,000 worth of emergency relief assistance on Sunday to the districts of Buller and Marlborough, with $300,000 going to the Buller Mayoral Relief Fund, $100,000 to a similar fund in Marlborough, and $200,000 helping flood-affected farmers.