The rain has only recently let up in Wairoa, three weeks after the region was hit by a massive storm.
Farmers can now start to assess how bad some of the damage to the land is, many hills are scarred.
Wairoa farmer Gavin Bowen counted 40 slips all shapes and sizes in one paddock.
“We haven't been able to assess all of the damage yet, I did manage to get in a chopper for an hour and it was pretty sobering seeing all the damage,” he says.
“The biggest problem is access; we are lucky we have horses but even they are slipping.”
The Government has made an additional funding support.
Up to $500,000 will be made available under the Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) scheme to employ jobseekers to help with the clean-up effort.
Local farmer Dave Martin says it will help some people.
"It's a tough tedious job pulling branches, toetoe and grass out of the fences so I'll be surprised to see people actually turn up," Martin says.
"We had riverbanks slumping and major devastation, most of my fences are right off and there's six hectors of maze grain that’s a complete loss, that’s probably $30,000 worth."
The Te Reinga bridge has been closed this week with long lasting damage discovered.
Two piers have subsided - compromising the structural integrity of the structure and impacting hundreds of people, with users forced to take long detours.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says it will take months to fix.
“The cleanup is probably a $20 or $30 million-dollar job, we’ve hardly touched it, we have roads open to one lane, we have some roads we can't open, and we have the bridge out so it’s a major."
“Some farmers have probably lost 50% of their land due to slips,” he says.
Farmers are preparing for more rain next week and the looming winter season.
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