Flood cleanup begins: 'We're alive and kicking'

While Edgecumbe locals may face a long wait before they can return to their homes after major flooding, the cleanup is already in full swing for residents in nearby Taneatua.

After the heavy rain earlier this week there was major flooding in the low-lying area, next to the Whakatāne River. Roads were blocked and the predominately rural area was left sodden and muddy.

Hay bales uplifted by flood waters lay along the roadside on the way from Whakatāne.

Further down the road, a line of dirt could be seen at head-height on a row of trees, revealing the extent of the water torrent.

Behind the trees, Jeanette Mitchell and her children and grandchildren were today removing damaged possessions and clearing up the layer of silt left behind.

"I left when the river was just coming over, but we lifted everything to a height that we normally do and is safe. But this flood is two feet, no, one metre nearly, higher than I've ever seen it here and I've been here 50 years," Mrs Mitchell said.

She stood on damp blue carpet in the middle of her empty living room, where the faint memory of its character was preserved in a portrait hung on the wall behind her.

"The mud is nothing, we've coped with the water coming up into the sheds and that. It's just a nuisance, but we know what to do, we know to lift. We did that, but we didn't dream that we were going to get a flood that was like that, a metre above whatever else we'd had."

The last big flood in 2011 left an inch of water in the kitchen.

"I said if it ever got into the carpet, I'm out of here," she laughed.

But as she spoke, the young men arrived to start ripping it up.

"I've got some decisions to make in the near future, but that's okay, I've had worse. Not worse flooding, but worse things in my life, so you just keep walking forward."

But she said she was not going to stay there any more. "Bugger that," she said.

"We won't sell it, it's a heritage building and so I'm saying to the kids: 'what do you want done with it? Do you want to lift it up or put a torch to it'?"

Mrs Mitchell had another newly-renovated cottage on her other farm, a short distance away.

"We were going to use it as a holiday place, but now I'll be squatting in there."

'We didn't think it'd get that high'

Organic dairy farmer Graham Lyford was no stranger to flooding - his property, which was low-lying and backed onto the Whakatāne River, was left water-logged in 2011.

"We knew it was coming, but didn't think it'd get that high.

"This is, by far, the worst one we've had. Silt-wise and height-wise."

Water rose up above the house's already high foundations for the first time in this week's flooding.

"It was flowing into the house.

"It was funny I was sitting there, three o'clock in the morning, on a recliner having a cup of tea, because we had power the whole time. So I had a cup of tea, sitting on a recliner, had my Labrador beside me, two cats sitting on the back, there's water all through the house about four inches deep."

The farm was now a sea of brown and his cows had been left standing on silt.

"They're not very happy. I've just got to control how much to give them, I can feed out, but I don't want to give them all my hay, my supplement, then have a bad winter."

Efforts to clean up were in full swing today, with the local fire brigade helping to pump out the dirty floodwater.

"The fire brigade turned up, these guys just following the fire brigade just helping out. Bloody awesome."

Locals form working bee to help out

In the township, Antoinette Spencer watched her home of 14 years fill up with water.

"I just wanted to stay here.

"It was a bit daunting over the last two or three days, but we're alive. We're alive and kicking."

Today they were loaned a trailer and ute that her 17-year-old grandson was helping fill with unsalvageable garden planters.

Much of the work was done yesterday, with a huge effort from the fire service and locals pitching in to help.

"From yesterday to today we've had a huge working bee that's uplifted carpets, cleaned out and moved all the furniture into the garage and basically the house is empty. Basically the local community efforts have just been amazing.

"I know it's all materialistic but it's still your life that's... Look at my dog out here. My dog just doesn't know what's going on, he's just shattered by it all."

Ms Spencer was staying nearby with friends, and said she hoped inspectors would be around next week to decide whether the house was still inhabitable.

- RNZ