Heavy machinery caught in floodwater at the Wairoa River mouth on 26 June 2024. The digger is used to open up a channel in the bar to let floodwater escape quicker. Photo: Supplied / Siobhan Pryde
Hawke's Bay Regional Council is commissioning an external review into last week's devastating flood in Wairoa following the controversial decision not to open the river mouth sooner.
As heavy rain lashed the East Coast, the Wairoa River inundated more than 400 properties, leaving 119 homes yellow stickered - meaning they are not safe to live in.
The town would have flooded less if a channel to let the rising river release into the sea was dug sooner, regional council chairperson Hinewai Ormsby told RNZ.
The council has now confirmed it is in the process of commissioning an external review that will look into the management of the river.
"We are reviewing the cause of flooding, operating procedures for the river mouth openings, and timelines associated with the event," chief executive Dr Nic Peet said.
The review of operating procedures was expected this week and would be made public, he said.
"The technical review of flooding causes will be done as fast as possible, but is complex."
Wairoa locals have criticised the regional council for not making the decision to dig out the river mouth - known as 'opening the bar' - much sooner.
Steve Kelly's recently-repaired home was ruined in the flood, leaving him and his sick wife living in a caravan.
Locals know the river, and the council must listen to them, he told RNZ's First Up.
"We've lost everything, and [the] regional council's actually to blame for this," Kelly said.
"We actually had a meeting with them, me and my neighbour, about three weeks ago, and told them they need to dredge the river and prep a bar.
"And they didn't do it."
Meanwhile, an independent review into how Hawke's Bay's flood protection measures stood up during Cyclone Gabrielle was due to be released on 24 July, the regional council said.
Wairoa does not have any flood protection, but $70 million has been earmarked to protect it from flooding.
The regional council, along with Wairoa District Council and Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa were still working with the community to land on the best solution, but the immediate focus was recovering from the most recent flood, Peet said.
"When the time is right, we will continue the development of a flood mitigation option with WDC and Tātau Tātau o te Wairoa."