Clutha: 150,000 tonnes of fallen trees, NZ$1m council costs

Friday 30 Jan 2026

 
A storm that lasted minutes has equated to at least a years' work on their 220-hectare sheep and beef farm near Clydevale, Holly and Todd McCammon say. The pair watched entire shelter belts tip over on 23 October, ripping up kilometres of fencing, blocking the driveway, and narrowly missing stock.

Branches were hurled like javelins into paddocks, and while no people or animals were injured, the pair have vowed not to plant eucalyptus trees on the property again.

In the months since, the McCammons have been juggling seasonal farm work with long days on the chainsaw and hammering in new fence posts.

"It was just so much destruction in such a short amount of time," Holly McCammon said. 

"The scale of it - it was a shock looking around... knowing how much it would take to clean up," Todd McCammon said. He said the pair had spent about $25,000 repairing the farm to date - "and that's probably halfway."

Like many farmers, the McCammons' insurance did not cover fallen trees or damaged fencing. The pair were still waiting for heavy machinery to deal with the largest logs.

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Source & image credit: RNZ


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