Hundreds of properties have been damaged by massive flooding in West Auckland earlier this week.
Residents of Te Henga Bethells Beach have no access to the only road out of the area after flooding in the area. Photo: Supplied / Ned Stevenson
Te Henga/Bethells Beach remains essentially cut off, with hopes one lane can be opened up by next Friday - though a full fix will take much longer.
Mayor Phil Goff visited the area today, and said an initial rapid assessment showed hundreds of properties had been damaged, though many suffered only minor damage.
Early next week it will be known how many can be repaired.
He said there were multiple slips and washouts in the area which he estimated would cost about $7 million for Auckland Transport to fully restore connection.
He said the river rose six metres in some places.
"I think the deluge that affected specific areas of the city was the worst that we've seen probably in some cases in 60 or 70 years.
"When you get a month and a half of winter rain in one night, you can imagine the damage that that is capable of doing."
He said people in the area are very resilient and are looking out for each other, with only about 10 needing accommodation to be provided by the council.
He checked out the Ferndale Lodge accommodation and community hall and damage to it was "immense", and it may need to be demolished.
He said there was four-wheel-drive access to Bethells Beach over sand dunes and via farm land, which was for residents only.
A temporary internet system has been rigged up, and landlines and power have been restored.
Goff said one silver lining of the massive rainfall was it topped up drinking-water reservoirs from 64 percent to 74 percent, though the water was very silty which created its own challenges.
