Flooding in Wairoa after the river burst its banks during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Wairoa District Council
Flooding in Wairoa after the river burst its banks during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Wairoa District Council
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says $70 million earmarked for flood protection measures along the Wairoa River will provide security for residents and help them move on with their lives.
The Wairoa River currently has no manmade flood protection in place - such as stopbanks - despite the river weaving through the Wairoa township, in northern Hawke’s Bay.
There were discussions about introducing measures to stop flooding after Cyclone Bola in 1988, but nothing eventuated.
The river again burst its banks and badly flooded the town during Cyclone Gabrielle on February 14.
More than 350 homes - many of which were damaged during the floods - are now in Category 2 in Wairoa and Frasertown.
Provisional map showing areas around Wairoa and Frasertown which are in Category 2.
That means they may require flood protection measures before being deemed safe to live in once again.
No homes are in Category 3 (effectively a red zone) within the Wairoa district.
As part of a Government cyclone package announcement, $203.5m was allocated for flood protection measures across Hawke’s Bay late last week. That includes $70m specifically for Wairoa.
“If we did not get this money we might have been looking at Category 3 for a hell of a lot more homes - so it is a good one for us,” he said.
“If it is managed well it is going to go a long way, and that is the key.”
Little said a lot of work still needed to go into investigating exactly why the Wairoa River flooded the way it did on February 14.
A picnic table dug out of the mud in central Wairoa. Photo / Paul Taylor
He said that would be a first step before deciding upon the specific ways the $70m would be spent.
Little said it would likely include a mix of measures such as stopbanks, swales and bypasses.
“We want to make sure [this flooding] never happens again, and for people rebuilding their homes they need security now that they can reinsure and also live a life without waking up in the morning at risk of losing your life.”
Meetings will be held soon to give homeowners more clarity around when they can expect to be moved into Category 1, which means they can safely rebuild and be reinsured.
Little said people had talked about getting some form of flood protection introduced along Wairoa River after Cyclone Bola.
“If we had got this money back in Cyclone Bola we may not be where we are today [recovering from Gabrielle].”
However, he said it was great to see the Government listening to the needs of Wairoa by earmarking $70m for the district, following consultation with the council, Tātau Tātau o te Wairoa, and the regional council.
