Disaster cheques in the mail

Central Hawkes Bay victims of February's floods were mailed a little bit of relief yesterday.

Mayor Tim Gilbertson said the council had sent cheques for between $200 and $7000 to about 80 addresses, mainly in Porangahau, but also to other areas, including Argyll, Takapau and Otane.

"We got a total of $130,000 from other local authorities and the Government, which wouldn't begin to cover the damage some people suffered. We didn't have enough money to fully compensate everyone, but we did it as fairly as we could," Mr Gilbertson said.