Flood-hit Tasman farms begin long recovery

Richard Kempthorne says for some, it's challenging, and for others, "hugely challenging".

The combined effects of the two flood events within a matter of days have seen land washed away by the Motueka River, fences severely damaged, pasture and orchards covered in silt and debris, and other farm infrastructure such as farm tracks and buildings destroyed.

Kempthorne says the recovery has started and it's going to be a very long journey because some properties have suffered severed damage.

"These people are going to take some time to first work out what to do and then do what needs to be done.

"From the local council point of view, this has been a massive flood which has done enormous damage [around] the river, including the river changing its course," he says.

Kempthorne says river engineers are going to have to look and see what can be done immediately and what needs to be done in the longer term. This has significant implications for property owners adjacent to river and there will be many discussions in the next weeks and months.

He says the RST is helping to connect the worst-affected farmers to Enhanced Task Force Green, which is just about to get started with the cleanup. He says many farmers will need help removing stones and silt or resowing new grass on the silt.

"They have also got to look at fencing and how they replace what has been destroyed. They have to decide whether they put up more resilient fencing that can withstand the type of event the region had just experienced, because more events like this will likely occur," he says.

Kempthorne understands why some people who've been badly hit by the floods are angry and upset at the lack of immediate government funding to help them out. He says after an event like this, adrenaline kicks in as they deal with the immediate issue. This is often followed by people going into a slum, followed by anger. But in the final analysis, he says the reality is that the local council and the Government must come up with a very accurate and sound estimate of the cost to fix the problem. He says this will be in the multi millions of dollars.

Kempthorne says in the meantime, farmers and orchardists who live by the river need to focus on repairing their damaged properties, then think about the future.

Hort Takes A Hitb

HortNZ CEO Kate Scott says they are starting to see the substantial cumulative effects on their members of the two disastrous flood events.

She says the second one resulted in significantly more impact, not just in different areas but for additional growers. She says there are reports that some growers have lost large areas of land that has just been swept away by the Motueka River.

"Not only are we seeing a lot of silt and debris damage in orchards, but shed, houses, cool stores, packhouses and worker accommodation have also been damaged," she says.

Scott says the fact that the floods weren't at key harvest time was something of a blessing. But she adds, the impacts of the floods may not be known for weeks, months and perhaps years. She says orchardists and growers from Hawke's Bay hit by Cyclone Gabrielle have been very forthcoming in sharing their knowledge on how to deal with a similar situation.

"They learned ways of dealing with trees that were lying in degrees of water and silt and the risk of root rot, and this knowledge will give Nelson Tasman growers the best shot at dealing with the crisis they are facing," she says.

Scott says HortNZ has staff in the region and they are playing a facilitation role, supporting growers. She says HortNZ is speaking to government on almost a daily basis to ensure they are fully aware of the extent of the crisis in the region.

State Help

Government ministers including the Prime Minister have been down to Tasman to get a first-hand look at the extent of the damage. They have put in $500,000 to help with the recovery in the primary sector, and a one-off grant of $50,000 to help the student army get out and help farmers and orchardists clean up their damaged properties.

And much to the delight of the region, the Government has found the money to fund a new Tasman/Nelson weather radar to improve severe weather monitoring.

The region has been asking for this for many years. The cost of $5 million to set up the station and a further $800,000 to operate the system will come out of the existing Met Service budget.