August 22, 2022
Tough times no over for Te Tau Ihu
Whānau in Te Tau Ihu is bracing for tough times as they start the recovery from the past week’s heavy rains and floods.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in Nelson today in Nelson visiting flood-affected areas today and talking to affected residents.
A state of emergency remains in place, and more than 350 major slips across the road closed roads and damaged houses.
Te Runanga o Ngati Rarua chief executive Shane Graham says the region has had to cope with a series of natural disasters, including the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes.
“It’s really hardened the whanau up to the realisation that there are bigger and broader issues we need to consider and not concentrate so much on things that are not important but focus more on things like community, whanau, whanaungatanga and our marae,” he says.
Mr Graham says marae in the region is wet but OK.
The eight iwi of Te Tau Ihu has declared an indefinite rahui on collecting kaimoana along large stretches of the coast affected by damage to stormwater and sewage treatment plants.