A massive recovery project is underway in the Hawke’s Bay as farmers and locals in the region try and clean up after the weekend’s devastating storm.

East Coast Rural Support Trust chairman, Mike Barham, is establishing a relief team which includes everyone from local farmers and volunteers, to rural companies and agricultural specialists.

Mr Barham says people simply don’t appreciate just how bad the damage is, and that a 5 kilometer strip of land around Cape Kidnappers has been devastated.

He is calling for a medium scale adverse event to be officially declared by authorities in order to maximize the amount of assistance those affected can receive.

“Yesterday I called a meeting with the MP’s, the head of MAF, the Regional Council and commercials like Wrightsons – all these people who service the rural people, and we’ve asked for a medium scale event to be declared’

“I’m now moving on, the government’s coffers are pretty bloody bare so we might get a certain amount of small things from them, like tax advantages and Task Force Green, and things like that.”

At the same time he says the government’s coffers are nearly bare and it’s up to the local community to be proactive and help themselves.

"I’m going to organize farmers in an organized way to get out there and help these people when the soils dry out a bit. And I’ll have the farmers well organized at the other end to be ready for this labour.

“I’m going to arrange adoption schemes for stock so that stock can go out and be carried over the winter by other people.”

Mr Barham says he is arranging for farmers who were struck by the 2004 floods in the Manawatu to travel to the Hawke’s Bay to pass on their experience.