Marlborough is in recovery mode after days of intense rain, but its mayor warns it will take years to repair all the damage.
Cars are seen crossing the Wairau River Bridge on SH1 between Blenheim and Picton on 20 August, 2022. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
A state of emergency remains in place for both Nelson and Marlborough as crews scramble to fix immediate issues.
Some of the region's northwestern areas, such as the Rai Valley, were inundated by up to 1 metre of rain in four days.
Marlborough mayor John Leggett told Morning Report people were the priority in the early stages of recovery.
"We've had the harbour master doing bay to bay checks, we've had helicopters going out into the Marlborough Sounds as well.
"Very important that we make sure that people are okay and then we start the assessment for where we prioritise work for Waka Kotahi and Marlborough roads," Leggett said.
"Obviously it's people first at this stage of our response and recovery" - Marlborough Mayor John Leggett
Teams would be sent out into the Marlborough Sounds and Rai Valley to assess buildings and roading issues today, he said.
State Highway 6 from Blenheim through to Nelson and the alternative route through SH63, which had extensive damage, would be prioritised.
"The only way to get to Nelson and through the West Coast now is through the Lewis Pass which is a massive trip through almost to Christchurch and across that way. That's not sustainable long-term."
The timeframe for repairs was unknown, he said.
To put things into perspective, Leggett said there was still a lot of work being done from the July 2021 weather event.
"On top of that we have this weather event coming through just over this weekend, so the damage is extensive, probably worse than it was in July 2021."
From that event they learnt that issues were not always visible to the naked eye and some slopes above communities were very delicate.
"In fact, they've been describing the ground moving."
Numerous communities have been cut off because of damage to roads and the mayor said they would look into increasing cellphone coverage in areas where this was an issue.
Penzance Bay local Leanne Schmidt was one of a few in the Marlborough Sounds to still have communications.
The Chorus network was down leaving only three houses with phone and internet reception, and the community was cut off by road.
"There's rockfalls and the road is missing in places, there's a wash out on the bridge.
"We're not sure when we're going to be able to make much use of this road."
A local water taxi service could bring supplies to the community although with debris in the water, it wasn't always a straightforward trip, she said.
"Most people who have visited the Sounds would remember it as clear water with native bush. At the moment It's very very different, it's littered with landslides coming down to the sea and debris everywhere."
"You could hear the rumbling in the hills as the landslides came down.
"I've got a creek out the back and there's rocks and boulders crashing down it as well."
In some areas, fire and emergency and locals had managed to open roads temporarily or provide access for four-wheel drives.
"We're all pretty resourceful and we can make that happen but when the roads not underneath you, we can't fix that."
"There's rockfalls and the road is missing in places, there's a wash out on the bridge" - Penzance Bay local Leanne Schmidt
Thousands to claim insurance
Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton told Morning Report there will be thousands of insurance claims made after the weather event but exact numbers were unclear at this stage.
"It's going to be big," he said.
Asked whether the premiums would rise as a result of the damage, Grafton said insurance was there for these extraordinary events.
"So, any change to insurance premiums is something that's determined over lots of different circumstances and may look back over the frequency of events ... and the kind of events and how extreme they are."
This current event would not have that impact, he said.
However, with global and local events, including inflation, everyone would be paying more in premiums in the coming year, he said.
"I don't want to mislead anybody, there are significant headwinds in the insurance sector around inflation like all sectors have, heavier reinsurance costs, and clearly more frequent extreme weather events all around the country."
"Any change to insurance premiums is something that's determined over lots of different circumstances" - Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton