All that's left after the flood: a few photos and the kids' bikes

By JO-MARIE BROWN

When Scott's Ferry resident Grant Bethune grabbed his three children and drove to an emergency meeting last Monday, he assumed he would be home in an hour or two.

He grabbed "a few clothes" for his family but left everything else pretty much where it was. Toys belonging to Shannon, 6, Angela, 5, and Kirk, 4, were scattered across the floor.

Appliances were plugged in all over the house and two of Mr Bethune's closest companions, his farm dogs, were in the back yard, sheltering from the incessant rain.

"After the meeting with the Fire Service we were going to go back and get them, but by then it was too late.

"The river had come up all of a sudden and broken its banks. We couldn't get back to them," a shocked Mr Bethune said.

Yesterday, the 28-year-old Manawatu farmer returned home and had to bury his pets, Tip and Rowdy, which he found lying outside.

"It's pretty hard. They were part of our family."

Mr Bethune was then faced with an equally depressing task - cleaning out his parents' single-storey home where he and his partner, Sharon Clarke, have been living.

"Everything's pretty much buggered," he said.

Every piece of furniture, along with all the carpets, curtains, food, clothing and personal belongings, have had to be thrown out.

"The Army's been in to help. They've taken it all away in skip bins and the Fire Service has been in this afternoon to hose everything down."

Mr Bethune said that at its height, the floodwaters would have been as high as the roof. A few framed photographs that were hung on the walls and the children's bicycles were all that could be recovered.

The family have insurance but are unsure if the house will be habitable again.

A week after they were forced to move in with relatives near Bulls, Mr Bethune was still astounded by the storm. "I've seen the river get to the top of the stopbank before but never over it. It was unreal."

SCOTT'S FERRY

Where: 19km southwest of Bulls at the Rangitikei River mouth.

What: 120 residents live in 50 homes. Farms surround the settlement.

Damage: Every single house has been flooded. Several will probably be condemned.