Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Dorothy Burrow’s flood-damaged Westport home. Ardern met affected property owners George and Dorothy Burrows, whose Gladstone St home was inundated by floodwaters for the second time in three years. Dorothy Burrows cried as she hugged Ardern and showed her around her flood-damaged home. The water reached the tops of her kitchen bench only three years after Cyclone Fehi caused widespread damage. The Buller River reached its highest ever recorded level at 12.8m on July 17. The previous record was 11.8 set in 1970. Ardern said she wanted to see for herself what the immediate and longer term recovery needs were.