Government pitches in for clean-up

By AINSLEY THOMSON and NZPA

The Government is committing millions of dollars in up-front cash to repair damage caused by some of the worst flooding in living memory.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said all immediate response costs would be reimbursed and funds would be made available as soon as possible.

"We will be digging deep into taxpayers' pockets," she said."We're writing the cheques right now."

Helen Clark was reluctant to speculate on the final cost of flood damage but the Government is known to be anticipating a bill of at least $100 million.

She expected welfare costs would also be significant and would be met through special needs grants.

She said the aid operation would run for a long time yet, and at the moment there were more Taskforce Green personnel ready to help than there were requests for assistance.

In response to criticism, Helen Clark denied the Government had not responded quickly enough.

"We were on to this very, very quickly," she said. "The last thing that people wanted was visits from me or anybody else when they were trying to get back to their homes. From the start, we were in there working with councils and other organisations."

The Government's announcement came as once again a severe weather warning was put in place for the central North Island overnight.

MetService forecaster Mark Pascoe said the hill country west of Taupo, inland Taranaki, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taihape and the headwaters of the Whanganui River would get about 80mm of rain overnight.

Strong winds are also expected in the area.

While the worst of the weather is expected to miss the most seriously flood-stricken regions of South Taranaki and Manawatu-Wanganui, there was concern about rising river systems.

A spokeswoman for Horizons (Manawatu-Wanganui) Regional Council, Linda Thompson, said the areas of concern were in the lower Manawatu and Rangitikei.

"We're keeping an eye on the Oroua River, downstream from Feilding, and the Whangaehu, Rangitikei and Turakina rivers could also have moderate rises," Ms Thompson said. "We could also have run-off from saturated land."

It is more than a week since the floods hit, but last night a state of emergency remained in place in the Manawatu-Wanganui area. Horizons chairman Chris Lester said it was unlikely to be lifted before 8pm today.

Work was continuing to restore power and phone connections, clear roads and find emergency accommodation for hundreds of evacuees.

Mr Lester welcomed Helen Clark's announcement that the Government would reimburse local councils for the immediate clean-up costs.