Two of the major insurance companies will be available to locals who need assistance with claims over the next two days.
IAG and AA Insurance will have representatives outside the Waipawa Library between 10am and 2pm today and tomorrow.
Staff will be available to provide support and assistance with insurance claims.
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A group of eight agricultural and farming interests have had their application to take 15 million cubic metres of water from the Ruataniwha Basin rejected.
A hearing panel made up of three commissioners appointed by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council assessed an application by Tuki Tuki Awa Ltd, Buchanan Number 2 Trust, Plantation Road Dairies Ltd, Te Awahohonu Forest Trust, I & P Farming Ltd, Springhill Dairies Partnership, Papawai Partnership and Purunui Trust to take the Tranche 2 groundwater.
72 public submissions were made on the application, with 69 opposed, one neutral, one opposed, and one withdrawn.
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Two Hawke’s Bay Regional Council rainfall monitoring sites in Porangahau recorded twice as much rain in a 24-hour period during the recent Cyclone Gabrielle compared to Cyclone Bola in 1988.
Regional Council spokesperson Dr Kathleen Kozyniak said Gabrielle’s rainfall was also more intense at all seven monitoring sites in the Tukituki Catchment.
Sites along the southern coast had some of the highest falls in the region, with totals reaching 450mm during the storm – about a quarter of the usual annual rainfall there - with rainfall intensity peaking at nearly 40mm per hour.
Dr Kozyniak said many waterways throughout the region reached new levels, including the Mangaorapa, Porangahau and Taurekaitai streams and Wairoa, Waipawa and Tukituki rivers.
