Gita flooding worst in years - Tasman evacuees

Three days on from Cyclone Gita and locals are still making sense of what happened to them. Riwaka couple Katie and Pete Ferguson say the flood they've just been through is the worst in the eight years they've lived in what is a flood-prone part of the Tasman district. The rural enclave in the shadow of the Takaka Hill near two large rivers, is used to flooding. But the severity of this week's deluge wrought by Cyclone Gita caught residents by surprise. Many, like the Fergusons, just had time to grab their children and pets before fleeing to safety, they told RNZ's Nelson reporter Tracy Neal.