Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell travelled to the West Coast on Saturday to assess the situation and to support local response efforts. On Sunday he said the rain had passed through and the region was moving into recovery mode, RNZ reported.
Mitchell said Hannah's Clearance at Jackson Bay was one of the worst hit areas and he praised a local police officer, whom he said worked tirelessly for nearly two days to help the community.
A state of emergency was for the south ward of Westland declared on Saturday after Franz Josef experienced its wettest 24 hours in 45 years.
Mayor Helen Lash made the declaration after 375mm of rain fell across the coast in the 24 hours to 7am on Saturday and terminated the declaration at 11.23am on Sunday.
The Westland District Council Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was stood down at 11.30am.
In a Facebook post, Controller Claire Brown thanked the community for their patience and help.
“It can be scary and stressful for our community during events like this, especially if you must evacuate your home. We appreciate the efforts of everyone who self-evacuated and who kept the EOC informed of their whereabouts, and those who helped other members of the community and visitors find accommodation.”
Those who have damaged homes or surrounding property should contact their insurance company or insurance broker and make a claim, she said. "Make sure to take photos of the damage to support your claim and help your insurer assess your entitlement.
"If your home has been flooded during the event, please contact the council's building control department so they can do a Rapid Building Assessment. If you'd like to know more about Natural Hazard cover and your entitlements visit https://www.naturalhazards.govt.nz/
Civil Defence controller Kevin Hague told RNZ officials would be making contact with communities around the district to assess the damage on Sunday.
Water levels on the Whio, Haast and Hokitika Rivers were dropping.
Roads damaged
State Highway 6 from Fox Glacier to Hokitika was cleared on Saturday evening, but the highway between Fox Glacier and Haast would remain closed until at least Monday. The NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi would provide an update then.
The rain pummelled the region, including the Grey and Buller districts, and orange level rain warnings were in place for Westland.
Flooding pushed through houses near Haast and there were concerns regarding an existing slip side at Epitaph Cutting - which has closed SH6.
There were floodwaters in homes at Haast, with Hannahs Clearing badly hit. Video showed people kayaking down the street.
NZTA said on Saturday morning there had been movement at Epitaph near Knights Point, which first slipped in 2016, and it needed to get Geotech experts on site.
However, it expected the highway to remain closed all weekend, though other slips and falls elsewhere on SH6 would be cleared.
“We will have a surveyor on site this afternoon and more geotechnical inspections by chopper on Sunday morning to assess the area at Knights Point. SH6 through Knights Point area will remain closed for the weekend, with the next update for the route between Fox Glacier and Haast at 10am Monday.”
There was no detour route for SH6 at Knights Point. People wanting to get to Greymouth or Hokitika would need to come via Arthur’s Pass (SH73) or the Lewis Pass (SH7) from the east coast for the time being, or delay their journeys.
At Haast, Kerry Eggeling said quite a few houses had water in them, at Nolans Rd. He also had reports of "some guys in a hut up a side road in their waders standing on a table".
Eggeling emptied his rain gauge at 6.30pm on Friday, which was overflowing by 6.30am on Saturday. In 12 hours, they had 170mm to 180mm of rain.
The rivers were quite high and although the rain had eased, the rivers were still rising at 9am, several hours after high tide.
"We think the Okuru bridge might dam the water up a bit," he said.
He had seen video of the Epitaph slip which showed the road had dropped and there was a great big crack.
"The hill detour has filled with a slip. That road will he closed for days - if not weeks."
At Jackson Bay Rd, Eggeling said he had seen a picture of a slip with gravel halfway up power pole.
At Hari Hari, Wanganui Flat Rd gardens went under. Robertson Rd also flooded.
There is no access beyond Neils Beach Rd to Jacksons Bay.
By 9am on Saturday, Greymouth had received just under 30mm of rain in 24 hours.
Haast though had received almost 500mm at Roaring Billy, Hari Hari 249mm, Hokitika 49mm, and Franz Josef 419mm. Whataroa also got an impressive 300mm.
There were reports on social media of water in houses at Hannahs Clearing.
The Haast to Jackson Bay Rd was also unpassable.
At Franz Josef for Civil Defence, Wayne Costello all was okay although there had been a lot of rain.
"The stopbanks are looking pretty good."
The Waiho (Wauia) River went through its first stage alarm about 4am on Saturday, but there were two regional council engineers on site and they were pretty happy.
Gerry McSweeney reported a slip at Lake Moeraki and a substantial one at Venture Creek.
- additional reporting RNZ/ODT Online
