Kaikōura mayor Craig Mackle says the tourist town is still a great destination for holiday breaks, despite the recent flooding.
By David Hill of Local Democracy Reporting
The town came through the event largely unscathed and operators are open for business, but the rural community was not so lucky, Mackle said.
An estimated 450mm of rain fell on July 7 and 8, with flood waters moving an enormous amount of gravel and sediment down the Kowhai River.
"There is still plenty room in town and it’s the best the time of year to see the whales," Mackle said.
"Kaikōura is still stunning. Two days after the event I walked out on my deck at home and thought, 'if you didn’t know better, you would think there's nothing wrong'."
Visitors are advised to take extra care when out and about, with many rural roads and bridges remaining off-limits, and you can expect delays on State Highway 1 due to road repairs.
Council chief executive Will Doughty said staff were still counting the costs, but the immediate response cost more than $250,000.
The repair bill for council infrastructure is likely to be less than first thought, but it will still be more than $5 million.
The council is continuing to work with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and other Government agencies to see what support will be available, he said.
"We are very conscious a number of our community members are facing significant recovery costs of their own and so will be advocating for support to assist them where we can."
Kaikōura infrastructure took a hammering from the 300mm of rain that fell in 24 hours. (Source: 1News)
Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith said he had raised his concerns around river management in the area with Government ministers.
‘‘The challenges facing river management in the Kaikōura electorate have been compounded by the lasting effects of the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake.
‘‘The earthquake triggered widespread landslips and instability throughout the region, effectively generating decades' worth of erosion material that continues to move through river systems today.
"This exacerbates the impacts of flood events by contributing to riverbed build-up, reducing channel capacity, increasing erosion pressure on riverbanks, and heightens the risk of overbank flooding."
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said the Government was contributing $50,000 to the Kaikōura Mayoral Relief Fund.
The Government was also co-funding flood resilience work in Kaikōura through the Regional Infrastructure Fund.
NZTA area manager Mark Pinner said the estimated cost to repair to SH1 was around $5m.
"The costs will be refined over the coming weeks as claims come in from contractors and as we scope and design further recovery work, such as the rebuild of SH1, where parts of the road were eroded by floodwaters."
Pinner said the Kaikōura and Hurunui district councils could apply to NZTA’s emergency works fund to assist with roading infrastructure repairs at the usual co-funding rate of 51% for Kaikōura and 52% for Hurunui.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) response director Glen Burrell said staff were working with affected farmers, sector groups and the Rural Support Trust to determine where support is needed.
MPI was providing up to $50,000 to the Farmers Adverse Events Trust for support in the Kaikōura district, with Federated Farmers matching the funding through fundraising.
"The funding will help repair damaged livestock fences, farm access tracks and to clear debris and sediment from paddocks," Burrell said.
"We know the clean-up and recovery will take time. It is important farmers know support is available and we encourage them to ask for help if they need it."
The Rural Support Trust can be contacted on 0800 787 254, while farmers with animal welfare concerns can call MPI on 0800 00 83 33.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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