Waihi evacuees stuck in quake limbo

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times

DESERTED: Waihi Village is a virtual ghost town, and can only be accessed by locals, and council or Civil Defence staff.

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times

EVACUATED: Waihi Village resident Brian Jones, his daughter Rachel, and her daughter Nikki are staying at Takaanu Lodge Motel after the Taupo District Council and Civil Defence asked residents to leave the lake-side settlement.

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All Rachel Jones wants is a "proper" school holiday.

Miss Jones, her father Brian and her children Nikki, 4, and Jessie, 10, are four of the 50 residents who have been evacuated from tiny, landslidevulnerable Waihi Village, on the southern shores of Lake Taupo.

Civil Defence and the Taupo District Council fear a hillside affected by a recent series of earthquakes and heavy rain could give way and a resulting landslide wipe out the village.

Miss Jones, who is staying at the nearby Tokaanu Lodge Motel, said there were mixed emotions about the evacuation earlier this week. Some residents considered the precautionary move until Friday sensible but others had had to be persuaded to leave their homes.

"It (the possible landslide) is a bit of a worry, but I don't think it's going to happen," she said.

"It's an inconvenience, and we can't wait to have a proper holiday. After everything is gone, we'll go somewhere."

Miss Jones who has lived in Waihi Village for 27 years, said she had grown used to tremors in the area but had been more concerned about Monday's larger "shake and roll" which had prompted the first evacuation in her time at Waihi.

The evacuation and road closure also meant Jessie could not get to Kuratau School and was having "an extra week's holiday. He thinks that's pretty cool."

Miss Jones went home briefly yesterday morning to feed her three dogs and grab a few possessions, and said Taupo District Council had indicated it wanted pets moved to shelters.

The road into the town is closed and only residents were allowed in. Patrols are in the settlement at night to ensure there is no looting.

Miss Jones felt the council was handling the situation well, but said she was not sleeping well at night because of the disruption. Tremors in the region were common but the major quakes on Monday night had taken the situation to a new level.

She was focusing on keeping busy over the next few days and would stay in contact with council staff.

Miss Jones said she had no plans to leave the village permanently, and didn't expect any other residents to do so.

"We'll just carry on, we've had 27 years of this. We're pretty happy there at the moment, we'll just see how we go."

More than 12 Waihi Village residents are staying at Lyn and Rob Williams' Anglers Paradise Motel, in Turangi.

Mrs Williams said the situation was "heart-wrenching". People had arrived at the motel "in dribs and drabs" and "not knowing what is going to happen".

"It's a bit of worry. They don't know how long this is going to carry on for. Some are quite upset, and others know it's for the best."

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