More than half of the seventeen families waiting for new or repaired housing after the cyclone which hit Pukapuka in Cook Islands a year ago, have since left the island.
The Island secretary, James Auorara, says one of the factors for the decision of the ten families who left, was the year long delay in the building project.
Five new houses and three new outbuildings are still without a roof, whilst twelve houses which were damaged in the cyclone have yet to be repaired.
Mr Auorara says the eight new buildings have begun to deteriorate after being left half finished.
"The timber structure of the roofing, because they are not covered, because of the weather condition here, it's hot and then it rains, the timber has started to have twisted and it's starting to deteriorate some other part of the timber."
