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Two years ago today, Marilyn and Rob Pearce lost their home in a devastating flood at Matata, swamping the town with rocks, mud and trees.
Mrs Pearce said the days since the disaster had been the longest of her life.
"The easiest thing out of all of this was the flood," she said. "It was over and done with quickly. The damage was done in 40 minutes."
Since May 18, 2005, the Pearces and others whose houses were destroyed have endured many lows, waiting to hear if they can return to their properties and rebuild their homes.
"It's been the council process and the engineering and all the unknowns," Mrs Pearce said.
The Whakatane District Council has now told those who applied for consents to rebuild that their applications can proceed.
The Pearces hope to be in a new house at their beachside property within a year, but have been told the property will not be insured against flooding until mitigation works to prevent another similar disaster are completed.
Mr Pearce said despite the lack of flood protection, they believed the chances of another 300mm burst of rain bringing down such large volumes of debris from the hills were slim.
"It's already come down, so we've got no fears of living down there."
During the disaster, boulders - some several metres in diameter - ploughed into houses in the Bay of Plenty township, destroying 27 homes.
The council said yesterday resource consent applications for three major projects were in progress, including one to regenerate the lagoon.
