While the floods that swamped Wanganui last weekend appeared devastating enough from pictures taken from helicopters, the view from space has offered another perspective altogether.
The NASA and USGS operated Landsat 8 satellite, which orbits Earth once every 98 minutes and repeats the same ground track every 16 days, snapped an image of floodwaters pouring out of the Whanganui River and into the sea as it passed over New Zealand on Saturday.
A "before" image shows what the landscape looks like in summer.
Dr Murray Ford, a geomorphologist at Auckland University, checked the satellite's latest images and spotted how it had captured the "massive discharge" of sediment from land.
The flooding hit the lower North Island, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes and left dozens of people stranded.
Damage assessments were this week still being carried out across the Manawatu and Taranaki regions as the clean-up continued.
Residents returning to homes
Some people will be able to return to their flood-affected Wanganui homes today, Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye says, but it could be weeks before roading is cleared in remote places. Some city properties in Wanganui have yet to be assessed also.
In South Taranaki, between 20 and 25 families remain stranded on their farms, while many roads remain closed throughout flood damaged areas. Some homes in the Waitotara and Tangahoe Valleys in South Taranaki are still without power.
Ms Kaye attended a Civil Defence briefing in Wanganui this morning before heading out to one of the worst-hit areas, Waitotara in South Taranaki.
"Obviously everyone is working hard to balance getting people into their homes with public safety," the minister said.
The situation in rural areas was becoming clearer by the day.
Roading around the wider region and in Rangitikei, in particular, have taken a hammering and Ms Kaye estimated that 75% of affected rural roads would be cleared within a month.
"Clearing those roads is going to be a real priority to ensure those people get access. But again, there are some parts of these roads that are really damaged."
The Rangitikei District Council have asked rural property owners not to use affected roads for heavy truck haulage.
Wanganui Mayor Annette Main said authorities were staying in touch with those in isolated communities.
"There's hundreds of people in our area who are completely cut off and today we're out visiting every single one of those that we can find, dropping in in helicopters," she said.
"We're also dropping off supplies to a large number of place who have contacted us and said they're running out. What they need most of all is to actually know that somebody cares, that somebody knows that they're there, that somebody's there to respond if they need anything in the meantime."
Ms Kaye said while residents and volunteers who had not been able to access certain properties were frustrated, it was important a structural assessment was done first. She estimated half those affected in urban Wanganui would be able to return to homes permanently in the next few days.
Farmers a stoic bunch
Federated Farmers Taranaki spokeswoman Bronwyn Muir said supplies were being helicoptered in, and most families had reported having enough food to get by.
Ms Muir said in some areas farmers were unable to check on their stock, which was a big concern.
"It's going to be a long haul out of this one. A substantial amount of capital investment will be needed just to get basic tracks up and running again."
She said federated Farmers was in constant contact with the families, and farmers were being very stoic and carrying on with what they had to do.
Taranaki Civil Defence controller David Lean estimated that 2000 people had been affected by flooding in the region in a negative way.
Civil Defence was in the process of appointing a recovery manager. Mr Lean said it could be a matter of months before some of the roads and bridges were fixed in areas like the Waitotara Valley, where the river flooded to 14 metres above its usual level.
Despite adverse conditions and road blockages causing isolation, Mr Lean said farmers remained resilient.
"Some of them don't go to town for weeks or a month, so it's just business as usual."
Roads affected
For motorists, State Highway 43 between Stratford and Taumaranui remains closed until further notice due to flooding. State Highway 4 between Raetihi and Whanganui is closed due to multiple slips, flooding and fallen trees.
Check on road conditions from NZ Transport Agency here
Cautions remain in place along much of on State Higway 3, between Whanganui and Bulls, and the Whangaehu River Bridge is now open, but with a 30kmh speed restriction.
On State Highway 1 between Bulls and Mangaweka, part of the road is reduced to one lane due to a slip, and motorists are advised to take extra care.
Further east, State Highway 54 between Vinegar Hill and Cheltenham remains closed for flooding, with a detour in place, and further south the Manawatu Gorge is closed until further notice due to multiple slips.
Civil Defence minister Nikki Kaye is visiting flood affected areas today. Starting in Whanganui, she will then travel to Waiotara to meet with residents at the Waitotara Hotal and Store at 10.30am.
Red Cross appeal
Red Cross has launched appeal to help those affected by the floods - a disaster the organisation has labelled the worst to strike New Zealand since the Canterbury earthquakes.
Recent flooding has devastated parts of Whanganui, Rangitikei, Taranaki, Hokitika at the weekend and in Dunedin earlier this month. The Red Cross said money from its appeal will go to those worst hit.
"The floods are the worst disaster to affect New Zealand since the Canterbury earthquakes. Thousands of people will need help to get their lives and livelihoods back on track," said Tony Paine, the New Zealand Red Cross general secretary.
"We have launched an emergency appeal to help those most affected."
A "comprehensive recovery job" would be needed as the scale of the damage became clear, Mr Paine said.
Red Cross emergency response teams helped Civil Defence throughout New Zealand, including with evacuations and welfare centres. Mr Paine said the teams would stay in place as long as needed.
"It's been an eventful year for us with Cyclone Pam and the Nepal earthquake, but as always we are just as ready to respond at home as we are overseas and we know that Kiwis are also just as ready to help here too," he said.
- NZ Herald and NZME. News Service
