Flood-hit Westland residents: 'We're on our own'

People in south Westland say they feel neglected and let down after major flooding in the region.

This week's big storm left one woman dead, cut power, closed roads and destroyed the Waiho Bridge linking the Franz Josef and Fox townships on State Highway  6.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has recently stated that repair times for the bridge would have to be extended from 7-10 days up to 14-17 days, with a target of getting the bridge operational by April 12. 

Richard Molloy said parts of his farm on the flats beside the Waiho River were two-and-a half-metres underwater after the stopbank breached.

He said locals are furious that previous calls for it to be repaired were ignored, and that officials are yet to commit to another one. The effects of the storm have had a serious impact on residents and they were unhappy about its impact on their region.

"Let down, gutted, all of the above and a whole lot more. We just feel we're on our own. The Regional Council have been very tardy on any maintenance on these things," Mr Molloy said.

He said at a meeting last night the 70 residents of the Waiho flats became irate, particularly when they found out that the appropriate West Coast Regional Council officials weren't present.

The council's chief executive, Mark Meehan, said engineers have been working in the area all week so farmers can start recovering.

He said staff will be talking with the community about the long-term options.

Meanwhile, MetService has issued warnings about heavy rain coming to Westland on Sunday night as the region works to repair the damage caused by flooding this week.

The floods left one woman dead, cut power and communications in parts of the West Coast, and completely destroyed Waiho bridge which provides access between Fox Glacier and Franz Josef.

The warnings predict about 100mm to 150mm of rain about the ranges, and 60mm to 90mm over 12 hours from 7pm Sunday.

They said up to 35mm of rain an hour were possible, MetService said, and could cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly.

Forecaster Fulong Lu said many places received between 500mm and 700mm of rain in 48 hours, causing pass and road closures.

He said the intensity and amount would be much less than that on Sunday, but would still cause damage.

"This one will cause some damage but less damage compared with the last one.

"In Westland, damage was caused by the last event and some areas haven't recovered from the previous damage so the incoming heavy rain will impact on Westland."

Mr Lu says the moving front would likely bring rain to areas in the North Island in the coming days.

"This one will cause some damage but less damage compared with the last one.

"In Westland, damage was caused by the last event and some areas haven't recovered from the previous damage so the incoming heavy rain will impact on Westland."

 

 

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