Two months on from the natural disaster that wrecked havoc on the Marlborough region, the extent of the damage is becoming clear.
Many residents of the Marlborough Sounds won’t be able to use their roads until Christmas, while some areas are expected to remain closed to the public for up to a year.
Marlborough Recovery manager Dean Heiford says the repairs are a long-term project with some areas of damage proving challenging.
“Six, 12, 18 months, two years depending on how work progresses,” he said.
This week, Queen Charlotte Drive reopened to the public for the first time since the July storm.
There are still many parts that are only one lane, with full repairs expected to take at least another year.
It’s even worse news for the hundreds of residents in the Kenepuru Sound, with the road there thought to be the most damaged. The residents are entirely cut off and only able to leave by boat.
The residents 1News spoke to this week say they had been given no indication of when it would be reopened.
This week the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board bought residents in by boat for a Covid-19 vaccination clinic in Havelock.
Anne Wilson’s house is between a large slip and closed road, much of which has fallen into the ocean.
“We can’t go anywhere, we’re completely locked in both sides,” she said.
Wilson says there needs to be some road access for residents, even if it’s just a couple of hours a week.
Alison Cusiel lives in Portage Bay and says the situation is taking its toll on locals.
“When you’re locked in for so long - two and a half months - everyone gets a bit irritable. We like to be able to at least get in and out.”
Heiford admits the council could have done things better.
"Yes, we have failed in a couple of areas there in terms of information we should have given them. Some of it wasn't even in a fit state to give the community because we didn't even understand it," he said.
On Thursday night, after 1News interviewed residents, the council finally released a document outlining a timeline for limited residential access.
Heiford says they’re hoping to restore some access in areas like Portage by Christmas, but it could be up to a year until the public can use parts of the Kenepuru Road again.
In other areas further out like Kenepuru Head and Titarangi the wait will be “some time” still.
The council is still waiting on engineering assessments and plans for some of the more significant pieces of damage.
When asked by 1News whether the area would ever return to normal again, Heiford responded: “Good question. I'm not sure what normal will be for that community”.
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