Cyclone Gabrielle: Army coming to rescue of stranded Rissington community; locals rally with diggers and boats

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The army will soon be coming to the rescue of Hawke’s Bay’s Rissington farming community, completely cut off by lethal cyclone floods which have destroyed hundreds of livelihoods and properties in the region.

Jeremy Absolom, whose family owns the leading livestock genetics cattle breeding operation Rissington Cattle Company, said the community, thought to comprise around 195 families, is cut off without access to power and unstable phone services.

But locals were rallying around to clear a way for the army to build a temporary bridge, over which residents could escape and equipment could be brought in.

“Water has come through at a height we’ve never seen. It’s devastating. Certainly, nothing in our family history since 1882 suggests we’ve ever had anything like this before.

“For low-lying houses in the Rissington valley, the water was at roof height.

“It’s significantly worse than Cyclone Bola [in 1988]. Surrounding areas are in the same position.”

Rissington Bridge, pictured in December 2021 when strengthening work was being done, was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Hastings District Council

The community is cut off after Mangaone River flooding took out the 100-year-old Rissington Bridge on Puketitiri Rd, recently restrengthened and heightened, Absolom said.

He is in Hastings and said his mother and two brothers were on the farm at Rissington, which straddles both sides of the road to Napier and is home to five families who work on the farm.

All Rissington farm residents and the livestock are fine, he said.

One house and the company’s office were destroyed as floodwaters from the Mangaone River swept through the property at chest height, but the farm’s other houses are on higher land and are unscathed.

The staff member whose home was inundated has been evacuated and is now in Hastings.

Council officials and engineers in Hawke's Bay are set to assess the level of damage caused by this week's flooding. Photo / Hawke's Bay Regional Council

The Mangaone River feeds the Tūtaekurī River, which runs through Hawke’s Bay and is a major source of flooding in the region.

Water supply and power were the main issues, said Absolom, who, being outside Rissington, can work with the NZ Defence Force and district council to organise help for the community.

A neighbour’s brother was today flying generators in from Taupō to power the station’s homes and pumps.

The Rissington business handles around 900 cattle and 2000 sheep. Absolom thought the property was okay for livestock feed for now.

“Water is the main issue, and we’re working on a plan for that.”

The local community was working together in “an awesome way”, he said.

The community had diggers working and the district council was mobilising residents to clear a track to the bridge so the army could build a temporary replacement bridge.

“Simultaneously they’ll cut a track through, so we can get people from the community above water and [give] them a way out. They’ll dig a path and come out throughout paddocks, so at least it’ll be a mechanism for getting people and equipment in or out until the bridge is built.”

A jet boat had crossed the river from Rissington yesterday to make the first contact with the outside, Absolom said.

If you have been unable to contact a friend or family member - or if you have fled the storm and want others to know you are safe - you can post a message here on the NZ Herald’s community noticeboard.