Some 500 properties in the town were flooded when heavy rain hit parts of the East Coast last week.
A state of emergency remains in place.
Mayor Craig Little said a mountain of sodden carpet and destroyed belongings was now lining the streets.
"Oh, people's possessions, now just wet sodden heaps out in front of their homes - all their furniture and everything, beds, carpets, linos, underfloor insulation, the gib inside, it's just relentless really."
The town's landfill was already at capacity after Cyclone Gabrielle and it faced a huge cost to take the rubbish to other tips, he said.
Ratepayers were already facing a 20 percent rate increase.
Little said there was no way the community could fit the bill for the clean-up and he would be asking the government for help.
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell has already announced the government would contribute $300,000 to the Mayoral Relief Funds to help communities in Hastings, Wairoa and Tai Rāwhiti.
He would be going to appeal to Cabinet this week for extra funding to support the town's clean-up and recovery.
Napier MP Katie Nimon earlier said the government was working with insurers and the local council to understand the best way to assist people.
"It's really important for us to see what's going to be covered by insurance, what's not.
"Ministers are working really hard to take a paper to Cabinet to get what we can to get the clean-up started, so council knows what can be done without having to worry about where it falls," she said.
