Emergency response crews hope to deliver aid to cut-off Wairarapa communities

Emergency response crews hope to deliver aid to cut-off communities in Wairarapa on Monday.

About 460 homes in Ngāwi, Lake Ferry, Whāngaimoana and Cape Palliser were cut off when the Tūranganui Bridge was washed out by flood waters on Friday, and debris and flooding have also been limiting access.

The region's primary controller, Simon Taylor, said council crews worked for 72 hours straight, and would be back to work this morning trying to repair roads.

"They've been working under pretty extreme conditions, really, considering their normal workload."

He hoped aid, including infant formula urgently needed to feed a baby, would be helicoptered in through Martinborough or Purania after midday on Monday.

He said people from the Lake Ferry community had been able to cross private farmland to get to a store for supplies.

A general store said it was taking about 50 orders of aid via quad bike and utes over muddy farmland.

Pirinoa General Store owner Dave Pillar said the vehicles would be taken over the Tūranganui River, and through private land.

"There's lots of landslides and washouts even on the farmlands so it's a p**** of a job to get through."

He said what would usually be a five minute drive on roads, is a 20 minute drive through farmland.

The store was also a lifeline during wild weather hitting the region in Feburary.

Pillar said the stream was the problem, saying a bulldozer needed to be brought in to remove gravel.

"The water just can't go anywhere.

"There's too many cooks, and no one wants to take responsibility for it."

The community of Ngāwi is completely cut off, and about 100 people are stuck there.

On the Ngāwi side of a slip, three road workers were stuck, Taylor said.

The closed Huangarua Bridge had been so severely damaged by water the seal had been removed, and it was now a dirt road, he said.

"While the bridge is being checked to be open today, you know, it's not going to be a simple, easy drive anymore."

He advised those who were not able to get help to ring the council, which had been "inundated" with calls.

Taylor said crews were beginning work on the Tūranganui River bridge on Monday morning.

Waimeha Camping Village owner John Priest said the centre of the rain was just north of Ngāwi at Whatarangi which received 300 mils overnight on Friday which was catastrophic.

He said the region had not seen such severe flooding damage since the 1970s.

The main damage caused by the inundation was to the road, although a few sections and houses were also damaged, he said.

Priest said progress was being made and he would not be surprised if they could get out via a temporary road in the next couple of days.

There were some houses still without power and water and people had been running generators for things like freezers, he said.

Priest said he had some contractors staying with him who were set to work in the area but got stuck on the wrong side of the river on Friday and now cannot leave.

"So I take them to work and feed them and dry their clothes and we've been pushing back to get the road open."

The road was damaged by the rain from above rather than sea swells, he said.

It was a shame as it was "an iconic and natural coastline", he said.

"People love coming to drive and enjoy it, so we need to keep it open somehow for our communities, commercial fishing and farming and tourism."

Priest said it was the third time this year that he had had to return money to people because they were unable to get into the camping ground and it was starting to hurt financially.

Cape Palliser Ratepayers' Association chairperson Donna Fenwick said the extent of the damage to the area caught locals by surprise.

"We can't get out of town, we can probably get oh 10 to 15 k's down the road and there's slips, there's debris, but also there gouges that have taken big hunks of the road out as well."

In contrast to previous storms, most of the damage appeared to be from the rainfall, as opposed to wind or swells, she said.

Meanwhile, South Wairarapa deputy mayor Rob Taylor said it could be nearly two weeks before access is restored to parts of the district cut off by severe weather.

Taylor said he was hoping engineers would be able to assess the bridge on Monday.

"The damage is much more extensive than it had been in the earlier floods and will require engineers to get in there and have a look under the bridge when the floodwaters actually recede a little bit more."

Roading teams had been moving materials into place so they could act quickly once engineers determine the scope of the work required, he said.

In Wellington, dozens of properties across the wider region are still without power following severe weather that pummelled the North Island.

Wellington Electricity crews, supported by teams from Auckland, restored power to about 90 properties, largely in Wellington city by last night.

About 59 properties without power around Porirua and Wellington's northern suburbs will be the focus of crews on Monday.