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Download AudioWhānau in Tairāwhiti are again cleaning up after the tail end of Cyclone Fili lashed the area overnight with high winds and rain.
Radio Ngāti Porou station manager Erana Reedy says parts of State Highway 35 that were flooded three weeks ago were again underwater, and side roads were also closed down with slips, flooding and fallen trees.
She says this time whānau had time to prepare and many to safer places, but it raises questions about the rohe’s ability to deal with climate change.
“Who’s going to be paying for all the fix-ups. We’ve no bottomless pit of money there, or definitely not in our impoverished rohe where the majority are on benefits. It’s a dire situation and it really worries me what we are going to do about the future,” Ms Reedy says.
Many homes will be red-stickered, and Gisborne District Council is facing a bill of $17 million-plus to fix road damage.
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