The Government looks overseas for help in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, police crackdown as arrests are made for looting and rescue efforts dwindle in Turkey and Syria in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Council interimchief executive Pieri Munro said based on their forecasting on Monday, February 13, they gave a notification to those in the low-lying areas — who self-evacuated.
“There was nothing in the information that we were receiving that indicated that there should have been a mass evacuation or formal evacuation.”
Damage wrought by flooding in Esk Valley. Photo / Warren Buckland
He said the change in water levels was swift and was double what they had forecast.
Eskdale resident Billy MacDonald witnessed the flooding first hand. He described people calling for help from their rooftops, surrounded by fast-moving floodwaters.
By the time an alert came through, the valley was already flooded, he said.
Eskdale-based Doggy Farmstay kennel owner Maureen Dorr said they managed to keep several dogs alive by holding some to the ceiling and putting others above the floodwaters until they could escape.
She said they spent 12 hours like that, because going outside was even worse.
Silt surrounds a home in Esk Valley, near Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland.
Elsewhere in the valley, a two-year-old girl drowned in what her family described as an “unavoidable accident” when floodwaters rose to the ceiling of their house.
Seven of the 10 sites monitoring river flows and rainfall in the Esk Valley went offline about 1am on Tuesday morning.
“Once the power and everything went out, we were flying blind because we didn’t have any telemetry nor cell network to tell us what was happening,” Munro said.
He said once Cyclone Gabrielle set upon the Hawke’s Bay there was no opportunity for them to get any further information out.
Munro acknowledged questions would need to be asked and reviews of the week done. But he said right now the council was focused on responding to the crisis.
