Flood-hit couple living in campervan months after forever home was swamped

When Tricia Hewlett and her partner bought their forever home in Canterbury's Little River last year, they were looking forward to settling into retirement in a community they loved.

Five months after devastating flooding they are instead living in Hewlett's mother's campervan and doing their laundry in a greenhouse.

"I really appreciate the fact I've got it, and we're here, we're okay, but it's winter and it's cold," Hewlett said.

"A whole lot of people in the community are still suffering."

Hewlett's flood-damaged home is being lifted half a metre higher in the hope it will not flood in the next inevitable storm.

Little River was swamped following torrential rain in February that prompted a state of emergency for Banks Peninsula and left a trail of destruction through the township nestled in a valley on State Highway 75.

While the floodwaters have long gone, locals like Hewlett are still rebuilding their lives on the slow road to recovery.

February's flood was the third Hewlett had endured in 11 months after moving to Little River from the peninsula.

"We were inundated, it was an amazing amount of water, the whole valley from side to side was covered. It just kept rising and rising and went through all the sheds and went through the car and then came through the house about 4am," she said.

"You lose your water supply, you lose your septic supply, you lose everything. You just have to start again really."

'I'll be working until I'm 76'

It took about a week to empty the house before months of insurance claims, contractors and rebuilding began.

Hewlett said she and her partner had taken out a mortgage to lift their house because insurers would not pay for it.

"It was 450mm off the ground and we're going up another 500 so going up to 950mm" she said.

"We can get $100,000 from the bank and if it costs anymore than that we have to sell our house. We're going to spend $100,000, all the savings that we've got will be gone. It's going to be tough.

"Instead of coming in and settling into our forever home and being ready for retirement I'm going to be working until I'm 76."

The financial toll had been significant, Hewlett said. She lost her part-time job after the flood and her art studio was destroyed.

It would be another couple of months before the house project was complete and flood damage repairs could begin.

Hewlett said she was surrounded by people in the same situation.

"There are still so many people who are not in their homes or are living in half their house while the other half is repaired and we're months later from the flood. You just don't realise until it impacts you how long it impacts people," she said.

"We chose [Little River] because of community. We were looking for a sense of community, which we've definitely found."

'I feel a bit lost'

Local businesses are also struggling to recover from the flood.

Little River Cafe's building is still closed, with the business operating out of temporary premises down the road while repairs are done.

Owner Cameron Gordon said floodwaters covered everything in a thick layer of mud and silt, forcing the removal of the walls, insulation, shelving, cabinetry and joinery.

"Anything that was wooden was tossed, that's all being redesigned and reordered. We're still working through the repair job," he said.

"It's been really, really slow. We're still about a month away from being reopened."

Gordon said the drawn-out recovery had taken an emotional toll.

"I feel a bit lost. I'm used to having a long list of things to do every day and and now I'm not really doing much, just sort of waiting on contractors," he said.

To better withstand future floods, cafe cabinetry was being replaced with metal framing that could simply be washed down if floodwaters returned.

Gordon estimated the damage bill would be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Most homes with bad damage are still in that state. I've got friends that still aren't in their house and they're still months away from getting back. It's dragging on a bit now for everybody," he said.

Gordon said Christchurch City Council had not provided enough support.

"I haven't seen a council person out here since day two, the mayor was out here shaking hands that first week, I haven't seen anyone since then. There's been no chat, there's been no mail, no correspondence so anything at all would be great from them. Maybe there's work behind the scenes happening, but not that I'm aware of," he said.

Kinloch farmer Tom Power had spent months fixing his farm but was still finding more damage.

"You sort of keep finding things that you didn't know about, you end up in a corner and think, 'oh that's down or that's got that on that', so yeah, never-ending," he said.

"Everyone who was in it has got their battles. It's the same old thing for us, the sun comes out and people forget, people move on and what not."

Promise of better flood protection measures

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger assured Little River locals that things were happening behind the scenes and said he was confident there would be better flood protection measures in a year.

"I'll be very disappointed if not," he said.

Mauger had already promised improvements for Little River after the May 2025 flood.

In February, some questioned why the council waited until the township was flooded before opening Lake Forsyth to the ocean.

Mauger said a diversion channel needed to be installed along the Okana River that could take excess water during heavy rain and reduce Little River's flooding risk.

Mauger planned to meet council staff next week to discuss Little River.

"Eight months prior to [February], I stood there with the minister, and we said, 'sorry, this shouldn't happen'. Eight months later we did it again. I do not want to be standing there in another year when you asked me, 'Phil, you had a good idea of getting this water down there on this bypass and you haven't done it'. We've got to do it," he said.

A multi-million-dollar pipe project known as the Ocean Connection that would allow a continual flow of water between Lake Forsyth and sea was also in progress, Mauger said.

"That's with rūnanga, they're designing that. It's a great big pipe that will go take the water off the lake and it'll go out and be able to empty it out of the lake all the time, rather than having to wait until it's too jolly late and have to spend a lot of money digging it out," he said.