Michael Beattie had only owned Whanganui tattoo studio Inksmiths for a year.
Michael Beattie holds a plastic box of possessions salvaged from his tattoo studio in flood-hit Whanganui. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
For an hour today, Michael and his partner, Airini Potaka, joined about 100 other business owners in their first chance to assess the damage caused by the floods.
For just an hour, the cordon that had kept them from their livelihoods was lifted, allowing them to wade through the mud-caked road to their businesses on Taupo Quay.
Business owners wait at the cordon to see their riverside properties for the first time since the weekend's flooding. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
Michael Beattie re-enters his tattoo business, Inksmiths. Photo: Airini Potaka
While some came back smiling, for Mr Beattie, what he saw was nothing to be happy about. The flood waters had risen around a metre inside his tattoo parlour. "It was a mess," he said.
"It seemed like a tornado had gone through it. Everything's thrown around, and there's that much silt, it's incredible," Ms Potaka said.
Thick mud covered the studio's floor. "It's thick as clay in there, it's real hard," Mr Beattie said.
In his hands, he holds a plastic box full of what little he could save from the studio.
"There's still a little bit in there. There's a lot of stuff stuck on the walls. Like, a lot of our artwork was obviously high enough that it didn't get damaged," he said.
"Maybe some of the stuff could be cleaned and reused but a lot of the stuff that looks like it's had a lot of mud on it is probably not going to be able to be used again. It'll probably just pay to throw that away and get all new gear."
Mud and silt - "thick as clay" - has covered the floor of the studio. Photo: Airini Potaka
Mr Beattie said he would probably have to find a new venue for his business. Photo: Airini Potaka
And, perhaps, a whole new shop. With no insurance to fall back on, Mr Beattie is already considering moving elsewhere.
"I had a tattoo studio down there - yeah, 'had'; we won't be moving into there again I'd say," he said.
"With all the mud and shit in there, it'll be pretty hard to clean up - plus, with the contamination, it becomes a health issue. So we won't be setting up in there again. We'll just look for another shop and start again."
But, despite the cost, Mr Beattie was confident for the future.
"With the amount of support that we've had, we should be up and running in no time."
Flooding damage to a business on Taupo Quay in Whanganui. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
Mud and grime litters roads - including Taupo Quay - in Whanganui. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
A longer shot shows some of the flooding damage on the street. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
