Hundreds of people remain stranded for a second day in South Wairarapa's coastal settlements as they wait for repairs to a bridge damaged by raging floodwaters on Monday.
By Sue Teodoro of Local Democracy Reporting
The Tūranganui River bridge just before Lake Ferry was partially destroyed, leaving about 400 residents and holidaymakers with no way out.
Greater Wellington Regional Council issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying debris needed to be cleared from Te Rata Rd bridge, upstream of the broken bridge before it could be fixed.
Manager of environment operations Myfanwy Hill said their flood operations team were on-site today clearing the debris.
"Once that debris has been cleared and flood water flows have reduced to manageable levels, South Wairarapa District Council contractors will be able to begin work at the Lake Ferry bridge."
South Wairarapa District Council said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon they would update the community as soon as possible.
The update comes as helicopter drops brought urgent supplies to about 115 people stranded in Ngawi and nearby settlements.
Those cut off included about six to eight groups of holidaymakers, as well as residents.
The first airlift of food, water, urgent medical supplies and other essentials arrived at Ngawi early this afternoon, landing on the local golf course.
Resident Kim Hayes said a second drop was expected later with additional medication, bread, milk and other supplies.
"The scary thing is there’s 115 people still out here and we managed to evacuate the camp and just about all holidaymakers before the storm hit," she said.
"The community has been amazing but we will also learn from this going forward."
'Bridge must not be used under any circumstances'
The Tūranganui River bridge, just before Lake Ferry, is a key link with the township. (Source: 1News)
Donna Fenwick, the chairperson of the Cape Palliser Residents and Ratepayers Association, was one of those who organised the drops of supplies into the Cape Palliser area.
She said communities cut off in that area included Ngawi, Whatarangi, Te Kopi, Mangatoetoe and Cape Palliser itself, with the Ngawi locals group and the Cape Palliser emergency response group working together to address the crisis.
The Palliser community had been isolated by both the collapse of the Tūranganui River bridge, and by a second, coastal bridge being damaged.
South Wairarapa District Council issued an urgent safety notice late on Tuesday warning people not to use the bridge that crosses the Hurupi Stream on Cape Palliser Rd.
"The bridge must not be used under any circumstances until it has been inspected and formally cleared by a qualified engineer," the council statement said.
Fenwick said the Hurupi bridge was structurally fragile.
"People in the community have physically driven around checking on people with no internet access, and getting numbers of people in the area.
"The holidaymakers have been using the Wi-Fi and water at the community hall."
'There isn’t much you can do'
Ngawi had lost power for about 24 hours after the storm started on Sunday night. While the power was back on, other supplies were at risk.
"We have access to a diesel pump at Ngawi, but if people run out, there isn’t any more.
"No one has yet got through from the other side of the bridges. Things can come in by sea, but that’s a last resort."
On Wednesday morning Fenwick said, "People have accepted we are here for a while. Visitors want to get home, but the locals are just getting on with it.
"We are doing OK."
Fenwick said while there were a few farms affected, she hadn’t heard they were wanting to move stock at this stage.
"With two bridges out, there isn’t much you can do."
She said Cape Palliser Rd had held up quite well, but run off from the hills had caused much of the damage.
"Everyone should be patient and take care of each other. In times of emergency, we all have to," Fenwick said. "When we have weather events like this it's out of everyone’s control."
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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