Financial aid for businesses and residents in flood-ravaged Edgecumbe will be discussed in detail this week, Prime Minister Bill English says.
Anger is building among locals at authorities' response to the flooding, caused when the Rangitaiki River breached a stopbank last Thursday. Some residents stormed out of a public meeting on Saturday night, questioning why more warning was not provided.
Speaking on TV1's Breakfast, English said there would be some form of inquiry into the response, but from what he understood human error had not contributed to the disaster. The situation was "pretty bad" for some people, he said.
"It is not a large town but they have evacuated 900 households. For some of those people it is some time before they can get back.
"We need to support those people quite closely because they have the maximum uncertainty. [They] left in a hurry, left behind their pets ... they need as much information as can possibly be given to them."