The community of Karamea in Buller is still completely cut off on Saturday night as further slips obstruct the only road in.
Work is underway across the district to repair infrastructure and the community continues to rally together to help desperate locals clean up before any further weather events.
Rotary Club volunteers have come from all over the South Island to help rebuild some Westport residents' lives.
"I've come from Christchurch, I was asked to come and do some painting but since I've been here I've dug holes in riverbeds, laid concrete and done all sorts of things," volunteer David White says.
Most of these people are older and retired but are putting in long physical hours to transform uninsured and under-insured houses from unliveable back to a home.
"You've been able to do something physical rather than put your hands in your pocket and bring out the cash," volunteer John Berwick says.
"I can see the devastation in people's eyes by getting their houses going underwater every time," adds White.
Rarn Johnston's house was uninsured and destroyed by a flood. She hasn't been able to live here for eight months. In that time they've had three floods, but she'll move back into one of the rooms tonight, thanks to the countless hours from the volunteers.
"I'm beyond grateful," she says. "Without them I would have just had to walk away."
Like many residents, the emotion here is never far from the surface.
"It's really hard when you see old people who've lived here all their lives crying," Johnston says.
Newshub went back to see resident Kevin O'Loughlin, who was emotional in our story on Friday night.
We bought him some fresh tomatoes on Saturday after his discovery yesterday that the flooding had ruined his tomatoes.
"They'll be ok, little bit of pepper and curry powder sprinkled over," he said.
Buller Mayor Jamie Clein says 22 homes have so far been red or yellow stickered from Thursday's flood.
"But that number is highly likely to grow as they get into, particularly the Inangahua area," he adds.
Clein says the flood has been significantly worse than first thought for key infrastructure, and the town of Karamea with 29 dairy farms is still completely cut off.
"I certainly do have concerns about access to Karamea and the ability to have large milk tankers and things traversing those roads," Clein says.
Johnston says Westport people are broken.
"We can't take it again, we've got another cyclone coming this weekend and it's the not knowing," Johnston says.
Authorities know it's time for action and money to come into Buller to try to help these climate change-driven events that aren't going away.
