27 Mar 2020

Southlanders displaced by flooding lockdown in temporary units

1:32 pm on 27 March 2020

Many of those affected by Southland's flooding last month will be weathering the storm of isolation in temporary housing.

Flooding in Mataura

Mataura houses flooded in February Photo: RNZ / Sarah Robson

The Gore District Council said 26 homes were affected by floodwaters when the swollen Mataura River inundated townships in early February.

Only two of the properties were now fit to occupy.

When the nationwide lockdown came into effect just before midnight on Wednesday, some were still without permanent housing.

"The council has been prioritising essential building inspections of the temporary housing units, which have been brought into the district for those needing them," the council's civil defence spokesperson Dr Ian Davidson-Watts said.

"There were about eight units. Others have found their own long-term accommodation."

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Staff had visited those affected by the flooding.

"The recovery team have been checking on those displaced by the floods to make sure they are okay and able to self-isolate during the lock down," Dr Davidson-Watts said.

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"They have already been through one trauma; we want to make sure they are supported as they face another one with the lockdown."

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