A shortage in geotechnical engineers that assess damaged homes may cause delays in evaluating the Nelson homes that remain uninhabitable.
It's been nearly two weeks since the devastating floods hit Nelson that caused major slips, and still, 178 homes sit uninhabitable.
Nelson resident Yuann Martichon narrowly missed a hillside that came crashing down onto their family home.
"It's a noise, especially I will remember that noise for the rest of my life."
He'd been shovelling a previous landslide just moments before another came sliding down.
"I thought he was dead, so we were crying, ready to dig him [out] and then he arrived from another side and said 'why are you yelling like a crazy lady', I thought he was dead, it was going to be the worst day of my life," said Yuann's wife Laury Dumas.
The land above them is council-owned, the Martichons have complained several times about the risk over the past year.
"It's the council's fault. Now it happened, it's an accident and but now they need to fix it."
Nelson Mayor Rachel Resse told Newshub the city is "hilly" and "water flows downhill".
A hilly city covered in hundreds of slips which will take a long time to assess. The Martichon's insurance company told them it'll be two months for a geotechnical report.
"The insurance said they don't have enough geotechs," said Dumas.
Nelson engineering geologist Sally Hargraves told Newshub the shortage is nothing new.
"There's always been a shortage as long as I've been practising. We sort-of do get into short supply in these events."
Which is likely to cause delays in insurance assessments and repairs.
"It can be two months, it can be six months."
Months too familiar for resident Sue Simpson. The hillside that's ruined her home is still moving.
"I have noticed that the mud inside is actually getting higher and higher."
Simpson's is one of 178 houses in the region still red or yellow-stickered.
"Until about the 8th November I've got accommodation, after that I've got no idea."
The accommodation concerns were echoed by the region's mayor.
"It's a challenge for this region. This is a region with a housing shortage, we have affordability issues in this region."
A challenge it's trying to tackle, as people face a long road to recovery.
