BUSINESS WEST COAST FLOODING
Resilience shines over flooded waters Farmers on the West Coast were more worried about people in the wider community and how they were affected by recent flooding than their own problems, finds Anne Hardie.
T
he mighty Buller rose to a onein-a-hundred-year flood that drenched farms bounding the river, but it also brought out the best in the close-knit community that rallied to repair damage. On one flooded Westport farm, a group of neighbouring farmers turned up as soon as the water receded and had the fences resurrected within a few days. Similar stories abound and are indicative of the community spirit in a region all too familiar with torrential rain and fast-rising rivers. Chair of the West Coast Rural Advisory Group, Taane Johnsen, says farms lost fences and pasture, but farmers were more concerned about those living in town who lost homes and possessions. “They talk about the resilience of West Coasters and farmers I’ve spoken to are more concerned about the town. People not having a roof over their heads and seeing all their belongings on the road waiting for the rubbish truck to pick it up. “Yes, we’re on the back foot for a bit of feed and farmers will have to reconcile their stock numbers around that. I wouldn’t be surprised if farmers with room on their farms tell other farmers they will take some of their cows for a few months. “Some crop paddocks were badly affected and balage washed away, but not as badly affected as we thought it would have been. Anyone who lives by a river is a good planner.”
FARMERS HELPING OTHERS The flooded Nine Mile Rd near the Buller River 30
West Coast Rural Support Trust chair, Carol
Keoghan, told a similar story of farmers turning up to help other farmers in both physical work and supporting their mental health. She says most farms and farmers would be ready to tackle the new season. “The farmers are more concerned about the people in the town,” she says. There was one farm that lost a substantial number of cows after the Buller River flooded land not previously flooded and no access to remove the cows. At least one other farming family was removed from a flooded farm by helicopter on the order of Civil Defence. National Emergency Management Agency communications manager Anthony Frith says a state of emergency enables Civil Defence to remove people for their own safety. He says it can be distressing and difficult for those forced to leave their home or farm, but the aim is to keep them safe. He says they try to get people back home as soon as possible, especially onto farms where stock needs to be fed. In most cases the force of water left little silt on the paddocks which usually causes the most damage. Bede O’Connor and his partner Angela Leslie farm at the entrance to the Buller Gorge near Westport weren’t so lucky, with 30ha under silt once the floodwaters resided. Bede says it will take a year to get those hectares up and running again for dairying, so they would be selling some cows. Wearing his West Coast Federated Farmers’ president’s hat, Bede says it has been invaluable having an MPI person living on the coast to provide expertise and
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | August 2021
