Last week's floods will cost the Far North District Council a hefty $3.5 million in road repairs.
The repair bill for the Far North was more than three times higher than the $750,000 to $1 million expected by the Whangarei District Council.
More than two months' worth of rain fell in some areas in less than two days, with the hills around Kaeo copping more than 370mm from Sunday to Monday. The town's March average is 136mm.
The $3.5 million figure was revealed by Far North District Council infrastructure manager David Penny at a public meeting in Rawene.
Fortunately for ratepayers, much of the repair work is likely to be be subsidised by the New Zealand Transport Agency. The rest will be covered by the council's storm damage contingency fund, which comes from rates.
More than 50 roads in the Far North were closed by slips, flooding and fallen trees.
Council spokesman Richard Edmondson said much of the damage had been caused by road subsidence or slumping.
Not included in the $3.5 million estimate was relatively minor damage to sewerage pumps and tanks at Kaeo and Kerikeri. Payment for those repairs will come from existing maintenance budgets.
Clearing road edges of flood debris and replacing washed-off metal could take 2-3 months, while it could take years to stabilise roads that have slipped or slumped.
The latest deluge was thought to have exacerbated problems with a section of road near Rawene, between the hospital and oxidation ponds, where the council was already expecting to spend up to $1 million stabilising the hillside and replacing services under the road.
Mr Edmondson said the Christchurch earthquakes had led to increased costs because insurance companies now required a $500,000 excess on claims for storm-damaged infrastructure.
The council was proposing a 1 per cent increase in the general rate in its draft 10-Year plan to create a contingency fund for flood and storm repairs.
Far North residents have until April 19 to make submissions on the draft plan.
Meanwhile, the NZTA estimates repairing storm damage to Northland's state highways will cost about $600,000. The repairs include stabilising underslips, repairing guard rails and resurfacing.
The deluge closed SH1 at Whakapara, Moerewa, Rangiahua, Te Kao and Te Paki, SH10 at Kaeo, and SH12 north of Dargaville.
Road damage aside, Far North Civil Defence controller Alastair Wells said the district had ``got off pretty lightly'' given the amount of rain in areas such as Kaeo.
