Flood-affected Waipawa properties - apart from one area upstream from Coronation Park - have all been cleared to be rebuilt.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council announced on Monday that most of Waipawa has been moved from Category 2C to Category 1, with residents being informed via email or letter last Friday.

The change to Category 1 means property owners in these areas can now start to rebuild their properties.

After flooding caused by February’s Cyclone Gabrielle, properties in “lower Waipawa” and a small area upstream of the SH2 bridge had been categorised as 2C, meaning community-level interventions - for example, enhanced flood protection - would be effective in managing future severe weather risk.

Map showing the area of Waipawa that has been reclassified as Category 1, allowing housing to be rebuilt.

Regional council asset group manager Chris Dolley said the stopbank repairs protecting the town of Waipawa are complete, with the protective banks returned to the pre-cyclone status of 1:100 year; meaning they have a 1 per cent chance of being exceeded in any given year.

Repair work continues in rural areas as part of the Upper Tukituki Flood Control Scheme.

Dolley also thanked the community for informing the regional council of damage to the newly rebuilt stopbanks caused by motorcycles and a truck.

“We are going to repair this and look at improved security and access arrangements,” said Dolley.

Regional council chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby said, “This is very good news for the affected people of Waipawa. I want to acknowledge our staff who worked so hard to get us to this point and the collaboration we have had from Central Hawke’s Bay District Council.”

Central Hawke’s Bay Deputy Mayor Kelly Annand said, “The move to Category 1 is positive news. It will enable affected property owners in Waipawa to move on with their repairs and forward with their lives.”

Annand thanked Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for “fronting with us in our recent community conversations in Waipawa and the wider district.”

Cyclone-affected properties in Pōrangahau, and a handful in Waipawa upstream of the SH2 bridge and at Tamumu near the Tamumu Bridge, remain categorised as 2A, meaning interventions may be required to manage future risk, but more assessment is needed.

No properties in Central Hawke’s Bay received a Category 3 rating - which would have deemed them unsafe to return to and off-limits for living.