Aerial images have revealed the extent of damage caused by flooding in Waitomo earlier this week.
On Tuesday, some communities in parts of the central North Island were cut off as torrential rain caused widespread flooding, slips, and extensive road closures.
Images shared by Waitomo District Council showed entire sections of cracked road and debris teetering on the edge of newly-formed cliff edges.
Repairs were “likely to take years and cost millions of dollars”, the council said.
General environment and strategy manager and local Civil Defence controller Alex Bell said there were many residents who were still coming to terms with the impact of the flooding.
“And because there are still areas blocked off and inaccessible, it is hard to determine the level of damage our district has suffered,” he said.
Waitomo District Council and roading contractors Inframax Construction Ltd and Pinnacles Civil would work over the next few weeks to complete assessments of damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Bell said although the flood waters were slowly receding, residents were still encouraged to drive to the conditions and respect road closures.
“The road closures are in place for everyone’s safety, including our roading contractors. They have been working tirelessly since early Tuesday morning and we appreciate their dedication to keeping our community safe,” he said.
“The flooding has caused a lot of slips and left behind a lot of debris and there are also a lot of large vehicles and other heavy machinery on the roads as part of the recovery efforts.
Waitomo Mayor John Robertson said repairs were estimated to cost millions of dollars.
“Over the past few years our roading network has suffered extensively due to several heavy rain events. No sooner have we completed repairs, when we are hit again,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with those residents who are still unable to receive support due to the flooding.
“Once we get a clearer picture of everything, we will work with other agencies to provide support as needed.”
Anyone with information on road outages or those with welfare needs were urged to contact Council on 0800 932 4357.
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