Nelson residents are facing a monumental clean-up after severe flooding, with one resident saying it will be six months before she can be back in her home.
Local states of emergency remains in place for the Nelson-Tasman and Marlborough regions, and some rivers at the top of the South Island have had their biggest floods on record.
Over 500 people were evacuated last week and building assessments are underway to see whether homes are safe for their owners to return to.
While some people are anxiously waiting for their assessments, others who have been cleared to go back to their homes have returned to find their houses destroyed.
Anne Devlin was one of many evacuees whose house is now unlivable.
Devlin returned two days after evacuation to find the property completely inundated with silt, 30cm of water through the house and a big yellow sticker.
After a building assessment, Nelson homes were catagorised by either a red sticker for no entry, a yellow sticker for partial or restricted entry, however living in the house may be off limits, and a white sticker for the all-clear.
Devlin told AM while her home can be fixed, the insurance assessor estimated it will be inhabitable for six months.
She said they have to treat everything that has been underwater as contaminated, so her carpet needs to be removed, the walls replaced, insulation under the house removed, and her kitchen and bathroom ripped out.
"All our possessions that were in the flood waters have to be thrown away," Devlin said.
She stayed with friends for the first couple days and is now in a motel, but she is "desperately" searching for long term accommodation.
"We are just desperately trying to find some longer term accommodation, a rental, so that we can have a base and get the family back together so that we can move on and start getting back to a bit of normality."
Devlin has full house and content insurance but it is the emotional cost that far outweighs the financial cost.
"It's been our family home for 24 years now and I've done a lot of the work myself so that time, effort and love that's gone into the place can't be replaced," she said.
The Government made an initial $200,000 contribution to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities affected by flooding in the region - but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said additional money will need to be added.
Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said the damage may take years to repair and Devlin said the community will need support during that time.
"Just knowing that we are not on our own, that we can rely on people to help us," she said.
Nelson residents who need support are urged to go to the Trafalgar Centre where they can access food, shelter and advice from insurance companies and other appropriate agencies.
