Any suspicious behaviour on farms should be reported, police say.
Police say people have been scouting out damaged farms to steal items, actions called the lowest of the low by one farming leader.
As farmers continue to work without power and try to keep their operations running at one of the busiest times of the year, another threat has loomed — reports of people trying to steal items.
People needed to remain vigilant against looters in storm-ravaged Catlins, a policeman warned last week.
"We’ve got to catch these punks," Senior Constable Riki Valentine, of Owaka, said to about 80 people while alerting them to potential looting on farms at a packed meeting at Owaka Community Centre.
People were entering farms without permission to look for items to steal, he said.
"People have been going on farms to check them out and see what is lying around and unattended."
Any suspicious behaviour should be reported to police.
He had reports of the driver of a black double-cab ute with shiny bullbars and a flat deck entering farms and then taking off after they realised they had been spotted.
"If you can get a rego, it will help. Otherwise, time, date, place and the direction they have gone. We’ve got to catch these punks. Keep an eye out for your property and your neighbours."
Federated Farmers Otago president Luke Kane said he had not heard of any incidents, but they could quite easily occur.
"In the back of my mind there is potentially a risk of this happening ... it is hard to describe what these sort of people are like who do these sort of things.
"The lowest of the low, really. If they do get caught then they should throw the book at them."
As people were helping out and coming on to farms, it was hard to tell who was who and who was really helping, he said. He had his own generators on other farms but could not say where they were.
Clutha District Council Catlins ward councillor Dane Catherwood said although he had not heard of any thefts, it could happen.
He had been shocked by the concerns aired by the police.
"It is pretty poor and you do not want them to be here. It is very disappointing. But it is going to happen. It shouldn’t down here, but it does."
