The flood damage to Hannah Doney's property in the recent storms in Christchurch.

A move to the outskirts of Christchurch brought fire and flooding for a family who are now just waiting for the locusts.

Hannah Doney and her family bought the 8 hectare property on Early Valley Rd, Tai Tapu, so their four aging rescue donkeys had some flat land where they could grow fat and old.

The English immigrants, who have lived in New Zealand for ten years, moved from Little River to their new home in February. A fortnight earlier, 300 large 50-year-old pine trees were burned less than 100 metres from the house by a massive fire that raged in the Port Hills.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Hannah Doney and her family narrowly avoided the Port Hills fires but last month flood water ran through the home they recently bought.

Worse was to come.

Doney's home flooded with about 10 centimetres of water when a usually-benign creek nearby burst its banks during a deluge of rain last month.

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Supplied The flooding was about 10cm deep in places.

She said the fire and flooding had "tainted" the move to the property.

"I don't think I've really accepted the full scale of what's happened yet."

Doney and her family had stayed in motels and Airbnbs since the flood.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Hannah Doney walks the route the floodwater took after the creek behind her family home burst its banks.

The house needs to be stripped. Carpets and wall panels near the floor have been removed and floodwater has wrecked most of the whiteware and the hot water cylinder.

Doney had just finished redecorating a sleepout, which was going to be used as Airbnb accommodation, when it flooded. It was "finished on the Wednesday, flooded on the Saturday" which was "heart-wrenching".

She said they were prepared to dry out the house and continue living in it, but an insurance assessor told them everything had to go or they would be sick within months.

DAVID WALKER/STUFF Early Valley from the air shows the aftermath of the fires. (file photo)

Their insurance company had looked after them, sending out an assessor on the Monday after the flooding. Builders were on site the next day.

Doney said the sleepout would be fixed first. The family expected to move in there in about a week. The house would be ready in about a month.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF About 300 large pines, which marked a boundary of the property, were burned in the Port Hills fires in February. Only piles of wood remain.

There were plans to excavate around the house and install large stormwater drains to prevent flooding in the future.

Doney said she had turned to her donkeys for comfort.

"They're my therapy. They're like big dogs. You go out and give them a cuddle and you're fine and the world is a better place."

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF The normally gentle creek burst its banks in te recent flooding.

The property is home to a horse, a 12-year-old black labrador, a hyperactive 5-year-old cross and a "random selection of poultry". The dogs have had to go to a kennels since the flooding.

Early Valley Rd forms the boundary between the Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council. Doney's property falls under the city council.

Civil Defence EOC controller Mary Richardson said she was aware of 15 properties within city council boundaries that had flooded above floor level, but did not know how many people had evacuated their homes because some had done so without alerting authorities.