A Rotorua Lakes Council committee has been updated on the aftermath of Sunday's floods, being told the "enormity and scale" of what was being dealt with shouldn't be underestimated.
A state of emergency is still in place for Ngongotaha and will expire this Sunday unless it is renewed, which is yet to be decided.
Acting civil defence primary controller Bruce Horne told the council's Operations and Monitoring Committee that staff were still working to paint a picture of the scale of damage from the floods.
"One area we're focusing on is building a picture so we have an understanding of what we're dealing with. One of the challenges we've had is people not calling in and recording it," Horne said.
"Even though we're in day five, the enormity and scale of what we're dealing with shouldn't be underestimated."
Horne urged residents to let the council know if they had been affected in any way, even if the issue had already been sorted out.
"Whether it be small or large if you've been affected by that flooding and suffered some damage please let us know."
Image 1 of 61: Flooding in Rotorua. Cormac Davis, 12, . Moncur Dr. Photo/Ben Fraser
Horne said there were 45 buildings in Ngongotaha that had been damaged and required a building inspection. There were 15 that had already been inspected.
Outside Ngongotaha there were eight that had been inspected on Ruihi St and had notices posted on them. Some commercial buildings were also affected, he said.
"We are not red-stickering buildings. We have not and nor are we in that process but we are having to issue some building notices."
Horne said there were also two propereties affected in Reporoa, one in Rerewhakaaitu and one in Paradise Valley which required inspection.
Horne said staff were looking at how donations to the relief fund may be distributed and the legal requirements, "so it goes to the right people and the right things".
He said while the reason for declaring the civil emergency no longer existed, there was the possibility the council may need to use some of the other powers the state provided.
"The most likely example is that we discover some infrastructure, take for example another road compromised, that requires a detour. That might be through private property. While we have that in place we have the power to do that.
"We'd look silly to remove it prematurely."
Councillor Charles Sturt said 98 council staff had been pulled out of their normal day to day roles to help with the response.
