The majority of Dunedin and Taieri residents affected by the weekend's deluge have been able to return home.
At a media briefing today Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull confirmed the majority of the about 140 residences which remained evacuated since Friday night and Saturday morning's deluge had been handed back into the possession of their occupants.
Henley's residents - some of the worst hit by flooding - were allowed to return to their properties today.
It was unclear how many residents remained evacuated around the city, but it was only a "handful'', Dunedin City Council recovery manager Simon Pickford said.
More than 40 people self evacuated, of which only three remained out of their homes, and four residences were unoccupied due to unsafe building notices being issued.
"It's actually pretty minimal in terms of people out of their home at the moment,'' Mr Pickford said.
The council had also relaunched the mayoral relief fund - as it did during the 2015 downpour which inundated the city's southern suburbs - to help residents who did not have insurance or other means of returning their home to a liveable standard.
The fund contained $60,000 and individuals could claim up to $5000, Mr Cull said.
"We recognise that there will be a need for that,'' he said.
Residents affected by the deluge - which brought more than 100mm of rain to many parts of eastern Otago - were encouraged to go to tonight's meeting at the Mosgiel Coronation Hall, in Gordon Rd, at 7pm.
