Thieves and sightseers plague flood-devastated town

Thieves and sightseers are adding to the woes of flood-ravaged Matata residents.

Seven months after the disastrous floods hit the Bay of Plenty town, residents' homes are being targeted by thieves and sightseers are treating the area as if it is a tourist attraction.

Resident Marilyn Pearce, whose beach home of eight years is no longer safe to live, said she understood people were curious about what had happened but it was unnecessary for them to ransack the empty homes of people forced out of them.

"It's only human nature that people are going to want to have a look but it brasses you off when they take what ever they like," she said.

"Every catch from the windows in my brother's home has been removed. It's just not fair that people feel they can walk willy-nilly through other peoples' home," she said.

It wasn't only tourists to the area. Local children were also looting and wrecking empty homes, Mrs Pearce claimed.

"These kids are vandalising homes. Smashing windows and sifting through stuff. It's only going to get worse with Christmas coming up. You can't watch your homes 24/7," she said.

Like many other residents, the Pearce family are living in rented accommodation until they can rebuild or buy again.

She said they were all finding it very difficult.

"It's hard for people to just walk away from a life. There are a lot of memories here for a lot of people," she said.

Clare Whyte of Rotorua's parents had a property in Matata for 20 years which has now been bulldozed.

She said: "It has been an extremely stressful six months, made worse by the number of sightseers who feel they have a right to wander onto clearly signposted private property and help themselves to whatever tickles their fancy."

Matata resident Mary Butler was one of the lucky ones who could return to her home.

However, she is feeling for her neighbours who are dealing daily with tourists checking out the damaged area.

"It's just shocking. It's a total invasion of their privacy," she said.

Many of the people forced from their homes were elderly and were already dealing with enough without having to worry about their belongings being ripped off, said Mrs Butler.

"The pressure of not knowing their future is enough. Some of these people are returning to clean up and while they are upstairs people are downstairs stealing their belongings. They have endured enough," she said.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)