Edgecumbe's 'dry' residents angry at forced evacuation

Edgecumbe residents wait to return - briefly - to their homes. Photo / George Novak

On the outskirts of Edgecumbe, a 300m queue of cars inches towards a checkpoint manned by police, army and firefighters.

These are the people who have been granted 10 minutes - maybe 15 - to shoot into the floodzone to access their homes.

Some will grab clothes. Some will grab toiletries. Others will grab medication for themselves and their pets. One elderly woman will close the windows she left open when forced to evacuate at a moment's notice on Thursday.

Most of these people are angry, and among the angriest are those whose homes have been completely unaffected by the floods but who have been forced to evacuate anyway.

"We're on Rimu St and we're dry," said Ian Josephs. "Why can't we stay there? It's drier than this road we're on now."

Mr Josephs and his wife, Kay, had left medication and important business papers at home.

Further back in the queue, Robert and Helen Morris criticised Trustpower's control of a dam system which they believed contributed to the flood.

"We've got rain coming again next week, and if they don't sort themselves out by then we'll have another flood."

This sentiment was echoed by another motorist, Gaylene Kerrison.

"Why was the spillway not used?" she said. "I'm a little bit emotional."

Trustpower chief executive Vince Hawksworth has disputed claims like these that the company was responsible for the flood, saying that it could not have been avoided under current flood-management systems.

In a red ute, Bev and Karl Stevenson, were among those who were hit hardest when floodwater swept through the town.

"I was there alone and within 30 seconds the water was waist-deep," Mrs Stevenson recalled. "Everything we owned outside was just washed away. The whole neighbourhood was falling apart before my eyes, really."

Mr Stevenson said the couple were going into Edgecumbe to see what they could salvage. Motorbikes, cars and a shed holding up to $30,000 worth of tools had been submerged.

"I don't know if the shed's still there."

One bright point was that the SPCA had rescued their cat on Saturday.

Brian and Jean Noffke had queued so that they could dash into the town and find heart pills for their dog, Bubbles. Their home was unaffected by the flood.

Sharon Matchitt was one of the few people not to express anger at the situation. She just wanted to get her computer and clothes from her "dry" home.

Most of the people in the queue were staying with friends, but some were in motels and others had no idea where they were going to spend the night. One woman said she was "living from one day to the next".

Earlier in the day, hundreds of flood victims queued for up to two hours at Awakeri School for permission to enter the town. Many expressed anger and frustration at delays.

Paul Mills said he felt "a very deep-seated anger" at being forced to evacuate despite his home being dry. He said authorities had largely failed in their communication efforts, and he had been living in "an information black hole".

Jonnie Josephs, whose home was also unaffected, said the registration process had been slow and he believed that information about water levels was incorrect.

At a morning press conference, Whakatane mayor Tony Bonne repeated a pledge to thoroughly investigate the events leading up to the flood.

He said contractors were working around the clock to improve access to homes, but stressed that a state of emergency remained in force across the district.

Eastern Bay of Plenty police commander Kevin Taylor said the cordon was necessary for health reasons and to protect the security of homes.