The face of devastation
When Andy James waded through knee-high dirty water to check on his Westport cottage and his four cats, he found a scene of utter destruction.
One cat is missing, and James and his wife face a massive cleanup after more than 150 millimetres of rain fell in the West Coast town in 48 hours in the weekend.
His Snodgrass Rd home is one of about 200 properties likely to be uninhabitable after flooding washed through.
Buller mayor Jamie Cleine told The Press rapid assessments of nearly 3000 houses had been completed. Sixtyfive were severely damaged and uninhabitable long term, 308 were moderately damaged, and 1800 could be reentered. Deep-dive inspections of damaged buildings would start today, Cleine said, but discussions about the future viability of housing in these areas were for ‘‘another day’’.
With four areas of Westport affected but damage sporadic on many streets, ‘‘red-zoning’’ an area, as was done in Christchurch after the earthquakes, would be difficult, he said.
Andy James, who was evacuated by the army on Saturday, left a tidy house with just a bag on his back but returned to an incredible mess.
‘‘It looked like someone had gone through and completely trashed the place.’’
At its peak, the floodwater had gone over the top of the cottage’s log burner.
Further along the road, the home Jacob Hawes and his partner bought only five months ago was wrecked.
His family, including a six-month-old baby, had to leave on Friday at midnight but a security camera in the house gave him a front-seat view of the developing disaster. The water reached three-quarters of a metre up the walls, reaching top drawers and ruining everything in its path.
Yesterday, he and his father were pulling out soaked carpets and waterlogged furniture.
Residents on the road experienced severe flooding in 2018, when houses were inundated due to a combination of wind and a high tide.
Hawes knew the area had flooded, but thought ‘‘the last one was it’’.
The house is insured and the family will live with Jacob’s parents until the house is liveable again.
Further down Snodgrass Rd, Lachy Smith and some mates were salvaging tools and machinery from his brother George’s shed on his lifestyle block.
Water as deep as 1.8m had gone through the shed and in the house, which was on higher ground. ‘‘It was hard to take it in. I just feel gutted.’’
West-Coast Tasman MP Damien O’Connor said options for rehousing residents were being considered, including bringing in temporary housing.
Damaged homes would need to be stripped and dried out before being relined because of water contamination, he said.
More than 30 soldiers from Burnham Military Camp have been supporting flood efforts in Westport, with seven additional soldiers arriving yesterday to help cook for up to 300 emergency responders.
Jae Group flood restoration business manager Mike Barron said he had referrals from insurance companies to
repair 205 flood-damaged homes in the Westport region, with another 145 in the Wellington region.
With only one two-man team based in Westport, teams were arriving from Central Otago, Ashburton, Christchurch and Nelson.
‘‘We can pretty much tell if [a house is] going to be worth saving.’’
If a house was too badly damaged, it was up to insurance companies to make that call, but ‘‘they don’t write off a house very quickly’’, Barron said.
Restoration work can take up to six days. Water and silt is sucked out by machinery, before mould prevention treatment and drying the structure using dehumidifiers. Further repairs by builders could take months, he said.
Federated Farmers West Coast president Bede O’Connor, who farms near Westport, was one of about 20 farmers cleaning up yesterday.
With 30 hectares of his dairy farm significantly damaged, he said he might have to look at reducing cow numbers.
‘‘It has been an unprecedented event.’’ O’Connor said he knew of one farmer who had lost livestock. There were reports
1400 cattle died on a Buller farm, but he said the number now looked likely to be less than 500, which was still a significant loss.
He acknowledged there could be stock feed issues for some farms. However, West Coast farmers were good at helping one another, O’Connor said, and stressed farmers were concerned for the community of Westport.
‘‘It’s really been an urban event.’’ The Government has classified the flood as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking funding of $200,000 to support affected farmers and growers across both the West Coast and Marlborough.
Funding of $150,000 will be used to help with recovery needs, and the remaining
$50,000 will go to the West Coast and Top of the South Rural Support Trusts.