Residents in Little River say they are still dealing with the aftermath of severe flooding weeks after a major rain event hit Banks Peninsula.

Marcus Puentener from Little River Campground said the follow up response from Christchurch City Council has been frustrating. “The council have been great in some respects, however their follow up and their realization of the scale of the flooding and people affected has been a bit lackluster,” Puentener said. “A lot of people have lost their homes completely, some have been yellow stickered, I think one has been red stickered.”

Puentener said large amounts of silt remain across parts of the village. “The silt that is spread through the village is still about a foot deep on the corner as you enter Okuti Valley Road.

“If it’s muddy it’s gluggy horrible stuff and then when it dries out it creates a fine dust that settles on everything. The fact the council have said it’s contaminated don’t touch it and yet nearly three weeks later it’s still sitting around.”

He said debris remains jammed around bridges across the area. “All of these bridges that have been choked up with debris from the river are still sitting there. If we did have another rain event it jeopardises the integrity of all of those bridges.”

Puentener said the community has relied heavily on volunteers to help with the cleanup. “As a community we have been relying on volunteers for helping clean up and they’ve been great. Task Force Kiwi and the Student Army and a lot of friends and family have come out and helped.”

He said support from the New Zealand Defence Force would also be welcome. “The army would be very much appreciated out here. At Burnham they’re sitting there twiddling their thumbs. This is the perfect opportunity to actually get our money’s worth from our defence forces.”

Puentener said residents had cleared blocked roads themselves by pushing debris onto nearby land. “The roads have been blocked. Residents have unblocked the road by pushing debris onto their property and now the council are going ‘the roads aren’t blocked.’

“It’s like hold on the debris is still there.” He said Environment Canterbury had been active clearing debris from waterways.

“To be fair ECAN have been very proactive and they’ve done a lot of river work and clearing debris from choke points along the river.”

Puentener said the flooding has also affected local tourism. “It’s not great for business either. We’re very quiet because there are road closed signs everywhere so no one’s really coming to visit us.” He warned similar weather events could happen again. “I don’t think this is going to be the last of this sort of weather event. If we’ve had one we’re going to have another one sooner or later.”

Puentener said the experience has been emotionally draining for residents. “It is bringing back a bit of earthquake trauma to a lot of people and it feels kind of like the earthquakes did out here with a lot of people at the end of their strength.”

Christchurch City Council Recovery Manager John Filsell told ChrisLynchMedia.com an extensive clean up has been underway since the rain stopped.

“Council, contractors and partner agencies are working expeditiously over a large and remote geographical area,” Filsell said. “With such a significant event and extensive damage, the clean up is prioritised. We do the most important stuff first.”

He said current work includes clearing public roads from debris and slips, assessing dangerous slips, restoring water infrastructure, clearing debris from public infrastructure such as parks, culverts and bridges, collecting silt from Little River properties, supporting community volunteer clean ups, providing skips for flood damaged waste, and offering technical and personal support to affected residents.

Filsell said two council staff are based in the community to assist residents and longer term recovery work is being planned. “Due to the nature of this event Council has agreed to remove silt recovered from in, under and immediately around dwellings in Little River. This is scheduled to be completed today Friday,” he said.

He said the provision of skips for domestic waste disposal had been extended until Wednesday 11 March. “The clean up and recovery is prioritised and debris around bridges is being collected accordingly. Substantial progress has been achieved.” Council and partner organisations are also assisting residents with access to homes, insurance claims, accommodation and psychosocial support following the flooding.