Victims of the flash flood that hit Tokomaru Bay on Sunday are grappling with the reality of the clean-up.

Tokomaru Bay resident Sandra Coleman says she is devastated.

'It's heartbreaking,” she says.

'We're just getting everything out of the house. We've lost so much, just so much.”

Sandra was in Gisborne when the storm hit over the weekend but was sent a photo of her house stranded in flood waters.

'I had to really look at it. I couldn't believe it was my house and then I realised it was.”

She returned home to find it caked in mud and silt. Windows were broken. A mark showed the floodwater was lapping at the feet of her La-Z-Boy recliner.

Tokomaru Bay woman Sandra Coleman was in Gisborne for the weekend when she was sent this photo of her house stranded in the flood waters. Supplied/LDR.

The bathroom had just been renovated but the lino would have to be pulled out, she says.

'It is absolutely mud right through.”

The community weathered more rain on Monday but with no further flooding, Civil Defence and Gisborne District Council northern area liaison officer Lillian Ward says.

'We did a drive around Tuesday morning and no water levels got into homes like on Sunday,” she says.

Wind and rain yesterday meant the focus was on clearing inside damaged properties.

Four families were unable to return home, says Lillian.

Carpenters started remedial work at Hatea a Rangi School yesterday and about 30 students are learning from home this week.

Two of the three classrooms at Hatea a Rangi School were damaged in the flood.
Alice Angeloni/LDR.

More than 150 volunteers were at Tokomaru Bay Sports Club on Monday, which became the coordination point for the community.

'When I walked into the club I just wanted to cry with so many people there, and they were all smiling and so optimistic,” says Lillian.

'The whole of Tairāwhiti is awesome. The words of support really pick us up.”

Kevin Pewhairangi was helping with the clean-up of his grandmother Ms Coleman's property on Monday.

'We inherited a big tree that came down the river and it pummelled our shed, which is a bit sad,” he says.

'It's just about moving that tree now and then working on the silt.

'I've never seen my grandmother's land like this. This house has been through hundreds of cyclones but not a flash flood like this.

'Luckily for us, we've got this amazing township and it's all kicked in. After this we'll probably go and contribute where we can.”

A parked car was lifted by the floodwaters and carried about 50 metres, he says.

'If it wasn't for the feijoa trees and these tanks it would have been in the river or down on the beach somewhere.”

He was a child when Cyclone Bola hit in 1988, but the riverbank wasn't flooded on that occasion, he says.

'This is a first for this street. The bank usually protects us but not this time.”

Rohatai Pewhairangi says her garage was flooded and the drainage system was overwhelmed but her house perched on a hill got away unscathed.

She and partner Pine Campbell believed they would face weather events like this more often.

Pine Campbell, left, and Rohatai Pewhairangi, right, believe Tokomaru Bay needs systems in place to prepare for storms like this in the future. Alice Angeloni/LDR.

'Our systems need to change to cope with climate change. We're going to get more of this. We're going to get more drought. It's just going to get worse. It's going to continue," she says.

'We need a system to help us with things like this. How are we going to deal with the water? Why is the water like this? What's happened to the land further upstream that's not holding the water? Drainage, trees, farming.

'It's not just here, it's what's further up there inland and, of course, the climate. Everything's changed.”

'What we had is pretty much signalling what we're going to get now,” says Pine.

Civil Defence and emergency manager Ben Green says the council's environment team were scanning the area yesterday to check people's septic tanks.

They were also providing solid waste removal from people's homes.

The fine patch of weather on Monday meant teams could get stuck in and despite the bad weather yesterday there was still a high level of activity in Tokomaru Bay and around the wider Coast, says Ben.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency continues to urge caution to drivers on State Highway 35, which is closed by Potaka at the intersection with Lottin Point Road.