Isolated West Coast communities are facing another day cut off after heavy rain and flooding caused widespread disruption in the region.
Locals are describing this week’s flooding as a 'once in 40 years' event.
Forty rural properties across Buller District are damaged, with some houses uninhabitable.
“There are currently four houses red stickered and 18 houses yellow stickered but that number is highly likely to grow,” says Buller mayor Jamie Cleine.
Multiple slips and cracks remain in the roads. Helicopter is still the only way to get to Karamea, a settlement of more than 600 people.
Karamea community coordinator Dave Sanders says it’s a frustrating situation, but the locals are “very resilient”.
“We just get on with it. We've had flood experiences and events before, and because of our isolation, it’s in our DNA [to] look after each other,” he says.
Farmers in the area may need to consider other options if they can’t get their milk out.
“I think it is really difficult terrain, so I do have concerns about access to Karamea and the ability to have large milk tankers traversing that road - that is a real concern, and I am hopeful geotech will come back favourable for that traffic management option for the coming days,” says Mayor Cleine.
Work has started to fix Reefton’s old landfill after the force of the floods exposed the dump, spilling rubbish into the Inangahua River.
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