A group representing contractors has raised concerns about the leadership and direction of the disaster response in Hawke's Bay.
The chief executive of Civil Contractors NZ, Alan Pollard, told Newshub local authorities appear disjointed and emails to relevant ministers offering help went unanswered.
Residents in cut-off Putorino said they too feel confused and there's growing anger in Eskdale, which locals said has become "the forgotten valley".
A collapsed bridge leading to Wairoa on State Highway 2 marks the end of the road north of Napier.
For over a month, residents in the bordering community of Putorino have been unable to leave.
"It's a bit like living in a detention camp because you can't go south, you can't go north," Putorino resident Petrina Sculpher said.
Sculpher said as the weeks have passed, the flow of information has deteriorated.
"It's been a lot of mixed messages, because you hear it from one department, then you hear it from another," she said.
"The big message is, 'Don't forget us. We didn't ask to be in this position'."
Sculpher feels guilty for not being able to help those hardest hit.
"And you feel silly crying, but it just comes up every now and then," Sculpher said. "This is a month out of our lives where we haven't been able to do anything."
Rural life is continuing - but it's complicated.
Putorino resident Violet Tamataroa's fridge has blown up and she has no internet or hot water.
"Lack of communication. Only certain people are told certain things. A lot of us don't even know what's happening," Tamataroa said.
Further south in Eskdale, locals are supporting locals, handing out donated goods and trying their best to coordinate their own recovery.
But they say the absence of any official response is staggering.
"Where is our Government on the ground? Not flying in a helicopter. Come down here. Come on the ground where our residents and our local people actually need you," Eskdale resident Sarndra Spice said.
They've been told only clean silt can be removed - an impossible task when it's riddled with apples, plastic and wire.
"They're feeling abandoned, frustrated, they're feeling angry," Spice said.
Contractors said they stand ready to help residents but have been let down by a disjointed response.
"What I am not seeing is overall coordination and direction. This is a whole region we're talking about here, not individual parts of it," Civil Contractors NZ CEO Alan Pollard said.
He said his concerns were shared with ministers Megan Woods and Stuart Nash when he requested urgent funds to mobilise some of the 470 contracting companies he represents.
"I haven't had a response to that yet. I'm told by the minister's office that they're working through it, but we're four weeks on," Pollard said.
Four weeks on and in these conditions time moves so much slower.
The Napier City Council did not respond to questions from Newshub, nor did the office of Napier MP Stuart Nash.
Infrastructure Minister Megan Woods told Newshub she was aware of the concerns raised by Pollard and they were fed into the cross-agency response.
Hastings District Council said to date, 88 different contracting companies have been engaged, with a priority on cleaning up roads, public parks and collecting flood-damaged items.
A single agency to coordinate the response was announced on Monday, with an interim manager appointed.
The Cyclone Recovery Minister, Grant Robertson, said he'd encourage Pollard to work directly with this agency.
