The clean up is underway in Southland after days of flooding and some people are just starting to understand the extent of damage to their homes and towns.
Authorities in Southland say up to 30 homes in Mataura have been affected and up to 20 of those could be uninhabitable.
A dozen houses were also evacuated in Gore and the Rural Support Trust is providing assistance to severely affected farmers in the district.
The Civil Defence Minister, Peeni Henare visited the area on Friday. He thanked locals, Civil Defence and the first responders for the job they had done in response to the emergency, and announced a funding boost for the local Mayoral Relief Funds.
Mr Henare says he will brief the Prime Minister and Cabinet on what he has seen during his visit to the flood-stricken region.
That includes the situation in Mataura, where flood waters almost reached toxic waste stored in an unused paper mill, which can release toxic ammonia gas if it was saturated with water.
