In the immediate aftermath, Mr Little said there was a theory around town that Genesis, which operates floodgates on the Waikaremoana dam, could be partially to blame — something Genesis has repeatedly denied.
“We are doing an investigation ourselves into why it flooded the way it did. We believe the woody slash and debris was a big contributing factor, along with a few other factors,” Mr Little said.
“We’ve got to do it very quickly because the Prime Minister did say by February he wants to know, get some more certainty and not just keep having meetings and achieving nothing.”
More information about when the investigation might start would come next week, he said.
The findings of a ministerial inquiry into land use and forestry slash after Cyclone Gabrielle, concentrating on the Wairoa and Tairāwhiti (Gisborne) regions, were released earlier this year.
Wairoa resident Terina Henare, living with her whānau at Waihirere Road, shares Mayor Little’s view that Cyclone Gabrielle’s flooding was different, and believes residents would be interested in an investigation.
“Some said the water came from the river but it didn’t. It came from behind us,” Ms Henare said.
She was a young girl during Cyclone Bola, but she remembers that there was more water during Bola, whereas Cyclone Gabrielle was more muddy in comparison.
“With this one, I think why the clean-up took longer would have been down to all the mud and the flooding — the silt and slash that came down with it.”
Her whānau home is provisionally in Category 2A and they are living in cabins on the land while they clean up and wait in limbo for decisions at Government level.
“We are going to look at safety and how well our house will last for future generations, but still, with that in mind, our goal is to get back into our house and make use of what our grandparents started for us.”
They lost “four generations of stuff” from the house belonging to her father and his siblings, but had been able to save photos.
“Watching that and my dad reacting to that was tough.”
Mr Little said Mr Luxon prioritising a visit to Wairoa first was a big indication that he was concerned about what was happening in the area.
“With these houses out of action or not livable, he really wants to make sure we get that river protection done first.”
Roading was another priority discussed during the visit, specifically the resilience of state highways 2 and 38.
Mr Little supported Mr Luxon’s view that money should not be wasted on the Napier-Wairoa rail and instead should be invested into highway and roading infrastructure.
“He is straight up. He is not going to promise us anything he can’t deliver
. . . I know he came to listen to us and the fact that he came here, I am pretty rapt about.”
