Kaiaua

Kaiaua residents whose homes were badly damaged in flooding in January are being encouraged to take advantage of a fund set up to help them.

A dozen homes in the settlement of Kaiaua have been left uninhabitable by last week's storm.

Seawater flooding of rural properties in Kaiaua is going to have a serious impact on farmers, Federated Farmers says.

The storm that hit the country last week packed "tremendous power", and was the worst seen in decades for areas of Waikato, residents say.

Authorities providing relief effort to the flood-hit town of Kaiaua on the western side of the Firth of Thames say it will take months before the community returns to normal.