Photo: RNZ/Susan Murray
On Queen's Birthday Monday, heavy but isolated rain pummeled steep hill country inland from Tolaga Bay on the East Coast. Farmland flooded and logging debris - slash - crashed down off steep hillsides. Thousands of logs still litter Tolaga Bay beach. Farmers are heavily out of pocket for farm repairs and seasonal jobs are well behind schedule. One couple believe major changes are needed to how forestry blocks are managed and say this disaster is waiting to happen all over New Zealand.
