"A significant amount of Provincial Growth Fund money has come into this area," Ardern said.
"We do have significant infrastructure issues that over decades have needed ongoing maintenance and care. There is ongoing work that is being done to make sure we've got resilience in that infrastructure," she said.
She added that rainfall and storms "hit infrastructure ... whether it's been well maintained or not".
Ardern hoped to survey damage from the air, but the region is still being battered by inclement weather, so she toured by road instead.
She spent the morning meeting locals impacted by this week's flooding and storm damage.
The Government has pledged $175,000 for the clean-up so far, and could roll out more support if it is thought necessary.
Ardern said this funding was made approved in a way that meant it could be made available quickly.
More could come.
Civil Defence Minister Kiri Allan said the funding had been made from the mayoral relief fund to "assist with the immediate flood response".
Allan said Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor make an additional funding contribution to assist rural communities.
"Ongoing work is still yet to be determined. We will be working closely alongside council, iwi and the rural communities," Allan said.
Earlier this week, Gisborne was cut off when State Highway 2 and State Highway 35 were forced to close after heavy rain.
State Highway 2 from Gisborne to Wairoa is still closed from slips and fallen trees.
A small section of State Highway 35 is also closed at Tokomaru Bay, where Ardern hopes to travel today.
According to RNZ, there is now no route south other than taking a significant detour north on State Highway 2 to Ōpōtiki and then on to Taupō.
Workers have started repairing the washed-out Maungahauini Bridge in Tokomaru Bay, with rock being moved and work taking place around the bridge.
Meanwhile, a slip has closed a section of State Highway 3 in the Awakino Gorge.
The Awakino to Mahoenui route, near the Awakino Tunnel Bypass, is closed until further notice, Waka Kotahi NZ transport Agency said today.
Earlier this week, Allan described the damage to roads and property at Tokomaru Bay as "devastating", noting this was the second time in nine months the community had been hit.
Insurers reckon the damage caused by recent North Island storms will run into millions of dollars.
The country's biggest general insurer, IAG, said as of Friday morning there had been 2554 claims lodged. More were expected from the East Coast, with more bad weather forecast and homeowners still to take stock of their situation.
A further 800 claims have been handled by AA Insurance for home, contents and car claims from this event and the insurer says they are continuing to see new claims come in.
"At this stage we've had over $3 million estimated damage in total, and we expect this to increase," said head of home claims Tom Bartlett, told the Herald.
"Claims have included a mixed bag of damage from leaking roofs and windows to totally flooded homes and garages. We've also seen a significant amount of motor claims for flooded cars."
