In the wake of last year's catastrophic floods, the path to recovery for several affected communities remains fraught with challenges.
As cleanup endeavours continue, staffing shortages and delayed payouts have cast a shadow over Esk Valley, leaving homeowners like 97-year-old Frank Desborough in dire straits.
Against the backdrop of revving heavy machinery, Desborough was left with a heavy heart as he watched his prized machines, ridden with silt, being taken away to their final resting place – a scrap metal yard.
Among the cherished relics was an 85-year-old lathe which he transported from England to New Zealand in 1950.
"It's my pride and joy... or was my pride and joy," he said as he bid a final farewell to a piece of his history. “And today it's going on the scrap heap.
"It's breaking my heart because this has been my third arm."
'Mental frustration is beyond measure'
Desborough said the tribulations of the past year has taken a toll on his mental wellbeing.
"At times I felt like lying down and dying," he told 1News.
At nearly 98 years old, Desborough said his body was robust but "it's taken a lot of knocks moving around".
The greatest impact has been on his mind, he said, with his "mental frustration" growing "beyond measure".
"I'm forgetful now. I can't make decisions quickly and I just keep wondering what's going to happen tomorrow."
But the cyclone's havoc has extended beyond the devastating loss of his beloved machinery, and the mental and physical toll of the drawn-out recovery effort.
It also engulfed Desborough and his wife Kerry's haven of fruit trees, transforming their once vibrant property – affectionately dubbed "Little Eden" – into a silt-filled weed garden.
Cleanup woes
The cleanup effort is mirrored in the challenges faced by the region's scrap metal contractors.
Johnny Browne, a scrap metal contractor, said there’s still a long way to go before all has been cleared.
"It is a bit teary-eyed for us because we know for us, it's just scrap metal, but we know where it's come from. People are telling us where it's come from, how hard they've had to work and how devastating it is for us to take it away," Browne said.
"It's going to take us another two years to finally finish everybody off."
He said hiring enough drivers and workers has compounding the issue.
"I think everybody is having the same struggle. Employment's the hard part," Browne said.
Buyout process stagnates
Another stumbling block in the recovery is settling buyout offers.
Residents like Frank Desborough have resorted to loans while waiting for the settlements to be finalised – an agonising process that has stagnated in the past 12 months.
Across the region, three homes have settled with another 165 properties still yet to go through the process. In the meantime, concerns are growing over additional costs as the council prepares to make a decision next week on who will foot the bill for demolition work.
As Desborough's 98th birthday looms, his modest wish is to have the bed he sleeps in paid for.
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