Cyclone Gabrielle: The Hawke’s Bay families who won’t be in their own homes this winter

Many of those displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawke’s Bay have moved from their land, taken buyouts or rebuilt their homes.

Some live with the scars and continue to fight constant battles, trying to find a way forward during times of great uncertainty.

Hawke’s Bay Today speaks to those set to spend their second winter out of the comfort of their homes and how they are fighting for their future.

Cyclone survivor Steven Galyer is desperate to find a permanent home as winter arrives.

He says it feels like the aftermath of the cyclone all over again, when he and his wife were left homeless.

Galyer and wife Shirley were long-term residents in Eskdale when the floods of February 2023 destroyed their rental property and belongings and buried their vehicles under silt.

They have lived in two homes provided by the Government’s Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) over the past year.

However, Steven said their latest home, near Whirinaki, was no longer available through TAS and they moved out this week.

They did not have alternative accommodation provided and were relying on others to put them up, increasing their anxiety and urgency to find a rental.

“It is like a couple of days after the cyclone – we are back to that state again, back to being homeless.

“The only difference is we have furniture this time.”

That furniture, provided by the Red Cross, is in a storage shed as they look for a rental.

They have also applied for council housing but that appears to be a lengthy wait.

Steven Galyer inside his long-term Eskdale rental a year after the cyclone. He and his wife are still looking for a permanent home. Photo / Paul Taylor

He said they had been applying for a lot of rentals with the help of his wife’s more tech-savvy daughter but it was tough to find an affordable option like their old home in Eskdale.

“She has done a real good story when she applies but … people offer to pay more and that’s it.

“We are on a real limited budget ... we’re pushing around the $450 [a week] mark and there are not many at that [price] and, if there are, they go that fast.”

It would mean the world to find even a one-bedroom place long-term.

Things like work and health issues were challenging when he and Shirley didn’t have a permanent home.

“I’m that stressed out it’s not funny.”

TAS head of accommodation response Fadia Mudafar said the service continued to work in the region but its support was temporary while people waited for their homes to be repaired or rebuilt.

“TAS is not funded to provide longer-term accommodation to people who are no longer displaced due to the emergency and do not intend to return to the home they were displaced from.”

For such people, its focus was to help them plan for other longer-term accommodation.

“This includes providing reasonable support to connect households with more appropriate housing support, for example through MSD or the council.”

In Thursday’s Budget, a further $28 million was allocated to TAS to continue helping displaced households.

“TAS is still providing temporary accommodation support to 296 people across 101 households within the Hawke’s Bay region,” Mudafar said.

If you would like to help the Galyers find a home, contact Steven on 0274077127.

‘Learn to move on’

A bright yellow sticker still sits on the door of the house Ken and Jenny Mark used to call home before they were rescued from its roof during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Inside lie memories, mouldy spores and remnants of cyclone mud cleared out so diligently by an army of volunteers.

“We can’t do anything with it, and it’s unliveable, so we are going to repurpose it into a shed,” Jenny said.

In the months after the cyclone, the Maraekakaho couple faced their challenges with hope and determination.

They have lived in gifted temporary accommodation since the cyclone while settling with insurers so they can fund a future for themselves and their business.

During this time, both have battled health troubles, including cancer and heart issues, which they say have probably been brought on by the trauma of their situation.

Now a glimmer of hope is on the horizon, with a solution used by many other cyclone refugees who still wish to stay on land once deemed safe.

Maraekakaho couple Ken and Jenny Mark hope to move into their cabins in six to eight weeks. Their Tait Rd property was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor

After months of settling insurance claims, two portable living cabins arrived in February, which the couple hope to move into in about six to eight weeks.

These cabins are further up the property’s hill, away from the potential risk of flooding.

“It is sad [not being in the house] but, with everything that’s happened to us, you just have to learn to move on. We’re doing the best we can,” Jenny said.

“We’re dying to return to the farm because Ken loves heading down every morning to feed the cows.”

The cabins are joined by a deck and have space for a bed, bathroom, small kitchen and temporary wardrobe.

Importantly, both have heat pumps for the cold winter nights ahead.

“We sat down and worked out what was important. We thought, never mind the furniture; you have to be warm.”

While they can no longer be their home, they are grateful still to be on their land and thankful to those who helped them get to this stage.

“Not once did we ever say we were going to give up. Where would we go to get this? The peacefulness and tranquillity we have here is priceless.”

Wairoa rebuild ‘slow’ but picking up

Wairoa still has plenty of cyclone-damaged homes that need repairs before residents can move back in.

However, a category change last month from 2A to 2C for more than 600 Wairoa properties means a large section of the township is no longer at risk of being red-zoned (placed in Category 3) and people can get on with repairs.

“With the category changes [in April], a lot of the insurance companies are starting to come back and start the rebuilds,” Tātau Tātau chief executive Lewis Ratapu said. “But it is slow.”

Cyclone Gabrielle left an indelible mark on the Wairoa district.

Tātau Tātau has hired out more than 70 cabins at a cheap rate for people awaiting the rebuild of their homes, many of whom will remain in cabins over winter.

“The repair work itself [for flooded Wairoa homes] is difficult because, as you can imagine, water and silt have been through the homes.

“And the homes were built in the 1950s and the 1960s.”

Many homes were under-insured or uninsured and various organisations, including Tātau Tātau and Wairoa District Council, are doing what they can to help homeowners with repairs.

Tātau Tātau is a post-Treaty settlement governance entity for the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.