Maureen Cribb's Bay View Rd home was left uninhabitable.
Mrs Cribb, who recently moved to Dunedin, from the King Country, said she had never seen a community rally so well.
''It's the sort of thing you expect in tiny communities,'' she said.
''The way we had so many people offering to help out was amazing.''
Mrs Cribb praised her granddaughter's school, Bathgate Park School, for the work it did to ensure the family were able to get everything out of their house as quickly as possible.
The principal, teachers and several pupils of the Macandrew Rd school arrived to lend a hand.
They cleared everything out of the home in a matter of hours.
''Their school motto is Aroha (love),'' Mrs Cribb said.
''They certainly put that motto into perfect practice. They were incredible.''
Mrs Cribb's sister, Rahab Brown, lives in Macandrew Rd.
All carpets had been ripped up and most of her personal belongings moved out to the street for collection.
Mrs Cribb went to her sister's house to help and was impressed by the number of strangers willing to assist.
The sisters were astounded by the community support they had received.
''The support we've received from both the DCC and total strangers has been quite surreal,'' Mrs Brown said.
''We had total strangers on the street who saw we were struggling and decided to help out. It was quite amazing.''
Mrs Cribb had found temporary accommodation, but her sister was still in her severely damaged house.
They are awaiting word from the DCC on when they can move into temporary accommodation.
by Ollie Ritchie
