Nearly 400 still in temporary housing after floods

Nearly 400 Tauranga residents remain in temporary accommodation as a result of floods which hit parts of the Bay of Plenty on May 18.

Tauranga City Council spokeswoman Elizabeth Hughes today said 17 people were in motels and 16 families were being billeted with other family members and receiving a Work and Income subsidy.

The rest of the 398 people affected were in private rental accommodation.

Evacuees were still frustrated over delays by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) in completing final assessments, Ms Hughes said.

EQC had confirmed 31 dwellings were deemed a total loss and that number could increase as further geotechnical assessments were completed.

EQC was continuing discussions with property owners and insurance underwriters to determine the fate of worst affected properties, Ms Hughes said.

The council was negotiating with several property owners to buy properties deemed a total loss by EQC. It was envisaged the council would clear those sites to make them safe, allowing current owners to move on unencumbered without the burden of having to spend money on sites no longer suitable for residential use.

A total of 114 homes remained uninhabitable from flood damage, while 52 were uninhabitable as a result of slip damage.

So far the council had spent $2,234,760 recovering from the flooding.

Some walking tracks on Mount Maunganui had reopened. Work continued on other tracks, which were scheduled to reopen towards the end of August.

- NZPA