Wairoa facing severe housing shortage after floods

Midday Report

The head of a Wairoa iwi trust says the town's housing need is greater than ever, with increased mental distress following another stint of heavy rain and flooding last week. The chief executive of Tatau Tatau o te Wai-roa, Lewis Ratapu, says there are more than two hundred homes that can't be re-entered, and 160 whanau are still in temporary accomodation after Cyclone Gabrielle/ He says the town's most immediate need, aside from clothes and blankets, is warm, dry housing, which could cost more than 30 million dollars.