Cyclone Gabrielle: Reaching cut-off communities around Hastings district

The Mangleton Road bridge is one of many that were broken and left rural communities isolated after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Hastings District Council says it’s been a combined effort reaching out to rural communities after Cyclone Gabrielle left many isolated.

When Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through the region last month, it left at least 10 rural communities in the Hastings district cut off, with more than 20 further isolated pockets of residents identified. These rural communities were isolated by road and bridge damage caused by flash flooding and slips.

More than 1000 people are down on the ground daily trying to fix roads and reconnect rural and urban Hastings.

The council said rural areas isolated without power and connection to the wider district included but were not limited to Rissington, Patoka, Dartmoor, Puketitiri, Te Pōhue, Te Haroto, Pūtōrino, Kaiwaka, Tūtira and Waikōau. Each of these now had a recovery hub run by members of the community.

The council said it was continuing to work closely with Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence to ensure the needs of these communities were met and all essential supplies were delivered.

Families could make requests to the recovery hub, which fed the information to the council, which then liaised with Civil Defence to arrange the delivery of supplies, which could be via helicopter, Unimog or other means.

The situation was constantly changing as contact was made with communities who had not been reached as yet, or responses are scaled back as needs change.

Council emergency response controller Craig Cameron said the number-one priority for the council roading teams was to establish access to isolated communities.

“There have been up to 100 road crews working on any particular day with more than 1000 people out there on the ground, working on our roads.”

This included building a Bailey bridge in Rissington, with the aim of it being operational as soon as possible, and other temporary access solutions across the district.

New bridges were also being designed, alongside restoring the lifeline roads to enable incoming traffic from outside the region to further support the recovery effort.

“We are very aware that those who are isolated are wanting timeframes on when repairs or new access routes can be completed.

“While it is still early in the response, we are prioritising areas that have a lot of people impacted, where there are known engineering challenges and where we can support the recovery of our primary industry,” Cameron said.

He noted that the contractors involved in the response were also dealing with the impact of the event in their own lives, including losing their own homes.

Flash flooding and slips brought by Cyclone Gabrielle left dozens of rural Hastings communities isolated.

“An event of this scale impacts everyone, and it’s going to take careful planning and time to fully recover.”

Council roading teams were working with Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency and neighbouring networks Rangitīkei, Central Hawke’s Bay and Napier to cater for inter-regional traffic.

Communication links into the rural communities had been established through the council’s Rural Community Board, the members of which were being contacted daily to ascertain the needs of their communities as well as being kept up to date with the work of the council teams.

Community Board deputy chairwoman Isabelle Crawshaw said isolated communities such as where she lived at Patoka were still predominantly in an emergency response phase.

“Communities are solely reliant on helicopters and the army to get supplies in to keep our whānau safe out here,” Crawshaw said.

She explained the wider Patoka community still have daily struggles with fuel and farm supplies, but the community spirit remains strong.

“We are working alongside all of the response organisations based in Hastings to ensure the community continues to receive what we need for the time we remain isolated.”

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said council teams were working with rural communities to meet their needs, particularly with opening access and fuel for generators.

The mayor said the situation was very changeable and every day, everyone was working hard together to support people.

“The rural community is doing an outstanding job of co-ordinating efforts on the ground and we are working hard to establish access and get them reconnected,” Hazlehurst said.

If people need health and wellbeing support, including mental health, accommodation needs, ongoing food, household goods and services support, animal welfare and rural support, a new helpline has been established: 0800 117 672.