Government agencies have been told to help first and ask questions later as the clean-up from the lower North Island floods continues.
Damage is thought to be well over $100 million, although insurers say it's still too soon to say how much they will pay out.
Insurance assessors are still out in force seven days later.
Phil Gare, national claims manager for State Insurance, says the devastation is unbelievable. He says "pictures on the telly just don't do justice to the devastation".
For flooded farmers, insurance won't cover income. Manawatu farmer Gary Knight says they are losing around $3,000 a day.
"Many of the farm cottages have people uninsured, and that's sad," says Federated Farmers chaplain Blanche Lauridson.
The road repair bill in Manawatu alone is already estimated at $20 million. The Manawatu Gorge is shut by a massive slip and 22 bridges are damaged.
The government says it's still too early to put a hard figure on exactly what it's prepared to pay for. But the Prime Minister acknowledges it will be tens-of-millions of dollars.
"There are real issues around economic viability in the region. And that is why you need to stand back and say, what would we purpose design to meet needs that goes beyond a standard recovery plan," Helen Clark says.
More than 350 homes are now deemed uninhabitable and with the figure expected to rise the emotional damage is becoming clear.
Dairy farmer Zarah Smith says she has seen strong men "sitting in their cabs crying".
Local farmers are now organising a community meeting to assess the damage and help people cope with what's going to be months of hard work ahead.
"We're only at the beginning. The rest of New Zealand will have to realise it's going to take a long time to fix theses houses and these lives," says Gare.
A week after the floods began, dozens of people are still out of their homes, several schools remain closed and many homes are without power and water. Phone lines are still down to about 1,000 consumers.
Several local roads and main highways remain shut.
