January’s severe weather devastated parts of the East Coast, including Te Araroa, the aftermath of which was likened to “a war zone”.

However, following weeks of cleaning up, including help from the New Zealand Defence Force, a local says there are fears upcoming rain could result in them returning to square one if the council does not clear a stream clogged with silt and woody debris.

35 Eat Street cafeteria operates from within the storm-ravaged Te Araroa Holiday Park and cafeteria owner Nina McClutchie has urged the Gisborne District Council to take action in clearing Punaruku Stream, which runs through the park.

They had been blessed with great weather since the January rain event and the stream should have been cleared within the first few days after the floods, she said.

“We’ve been trying to understand why GDC hasn’t come to the forefront earlier.”

In reply to Local Democracy Reporting queries, the council said it first had to assess the stream and the surrounding ground by technical experts “to find the right way forward for the community”.

“Emergency works are planned to be done on the Punaruku Stream before the pending weather hits.”

McClutchie told LDR she estimated 500 metres of the stream needed to be “urgently dug out” and 2m-3m of silt removed.

The hill behind the park, which had slid during the storm, was at “high risk” of doing it again, she said.

“We could be put back to square one ... by the end of the weekend.”

McClutchie, holiday park owner Bill Martin and caretaker Steve Lamb spent weeks cleaning up the mess at the park, with help from friends and NZ Army soldiers, who left last week.

McClutchie said Martin estimated that it would take “two diggers working hard out” to clear the stream within two to three days.

“But it just seems to be a whole lot of pen-pushing and not enough action.”

They had spent 12 days without power and remained without water, which would be needed for both businesses to get started again.

“The water is the big concern here.”

McClutchie said local Civil Defence had said it was sending a water team down.

“Whoever that is, we didn’t see one person. We still haven’t seen anyone.”

They were grateful to Darren Tichbourne from Digger Workz, and local Māori hauora Manaaki Matakaoa for their help, and to Hovell Logging for clearing the road in front of the campsite.

The state of emergency was scheduled to be lifted today (Wednesday) “and then we move into the recovery process”.

“We would just like to see action now, especially with the incoming weather.”

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence alternate controller Phil Nickerson said the stream and the surrounding ground had to be assessed by technical experts, and emergency works were planned on it before the pending weather.

A decision was to be made later today on whether to extend the local state of emergency, he said.

“The area has been assessed. The ground is holding a lot of water and there are multiple slips through that area.”

Nickerson said McClutchie had been visited and contacted, and the water truck was scheduled to deliver water to her [Tuesday[.

“Every single person in Te Araroa has been contacted and/or visited by TA Civil Defence and their team.”

Geotech inspected the bottom of the Punaruku slip plain on Tuesday, near the motor camp.

The council and NZTA were working closely with landowners and the community on the latest steps, and all of the houses at Punaruku had been reassessed, he said.

Speaking with LDR Tuesday, Te Araroa Civil Defence co-ordinator Tash Wanoa said “ears prick” and “stress levels” gradually started to rise when rain was on its way.

The Te Araroa Civil Defence hub and welfare centre at Hinerupe Marae would stay activated over the weekend for whānau.

MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said there was still a bit of uncertainty about where in the region would be most affected.

Looking at the severe weather outlook, he said they were moderately confident of heavy rain for Tairāwhiti on Saturday and Sunday, and there was potential for severe gales for Sunday.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.