It's going to be a long road back to normal for flood-stricken Westport, with 1000 people unable to go home, a shortage of rental housing and streets still filled with filthy water.
Some there say their houses have "had it" and others don't know when they will get home to assess the damage.
Alongside the destruction of property - buildings, vehicles and treasured personal possessions - farmers at the heart of the Buller District have suffered stock losses.
One farmer lost around 700 animals after the Buller River rose to what some say were unprecedented levels.
The clean-up for the town with a population of just over 4600 will likely take months and it has been estimated "hundreds" of houses have been badly damaged.
The Buller and Marlborough regions were battered by heavy rain that caused flooding, slips, major road closures and left towns completely cut off.
The unforgiving weather forced evacuations on Friday night, leaving people trapped on the roofs of their cars and needing to be rescued.
Some have been able to return home but many will spend the next few days in evacuation centres as authorities get a better idea of the situation.

Whole blocks of houses remain under massive amounts of water in Westport. (Photo / George Heard)
The majority of them are in the hardest-hit area - Westport.
Yesterday the Government announced a $300,000 helping hand to Westport through a mayoral relief fund and a further $100,000 for the Blenheim-Marlborough region.
And a separate $200,000 has been committed for flood-affected farmers and growers across both areas.
'We're here to help' - Kris Faafoi
Acting Emergency Management Minister Kris Faafoi acknowledged the work that has already been done to help those on the ground and said the extent of the damage would be known over the next day or so.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Mike Yardley this morning, he said: "Today and the next couple of days, as the waters recede, we'll get a really good idea of just how much of a clean-up there is."
He said there is a "significant number" of people who will be out of their homes over the next few days as a result.
One challenge was making sure families whose homes have been flood-damaged had a place to stay while repairs were being carried out at their properties.
Officials are working closely with the Civil Defence, as well as the Defence Force, to ensure locals were taken care of in that regard, he said.
"We'll keep working with them to make sure they have everything they need."

Asked if he had a message for farmers, he said: "We're here to help."
He said the Government would be there to assist where possible.
Aerial views of Westport showed most houses in the central town area under water - many up to window-level with parked cars completely submerged.
Murky and stinking brown floodwater covered entire streets, and paddocks surrounding the town looked more like lakes.

The clean-up is expected to take months, with many residents still unable to return home to even assess the damage. (Photo / George Heard)
Wendy Bullard has lived in Westport for decades and has endured two previous floods - but nothing like what smashed through the town at the weekend.
The Herald was with her when she was allowed to go back to her property, the water still knee high.

Her tears flowed - a mixture of sadness, anger, frustration, hopelessness, exhaustion - as she surveyed the damage.
Photo albums with decades of family memories; sopping wet, destroyed.Her bathroom layered with foul smelling mud; her flooring, her furniture - everything soaked, splashed and ruined.

Westport resident Wendy Bullard cries as she returns to her home to survey the damage. (Photo / George Heard)
As her most personal and loved possessions floated around her in the filthy brown and cold water her voice broke.
"Everything ... my whole life up to this point, 58 years ... my daughters' things," she said.
"It's a living nightmare."
"I'm gutted, I'm in shock."First responders out helping the com...