The force of the water wrecked fencing in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor
The force of the water wrecked fencing in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her new Cabinet are expected to hear of Napier's most urgent flood recovery needs when they meet in Wellington on Monday.
On hand will be new Emergency Management Minister Kiritapu Allan, Napier MP Stuart Nash and Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri, who along with mayorKirsten Wise all took part in Saturday's phase one community clean-up – lifting fridges, furniture, carpets, and spirits as they got the chance to both help and learn.
It was full of special moments, Whaitiri highlighting the point in an incident of a woman who came out of a house in Latham St and said all she wanted was a hug.
A testing moment for Nash was when, having already given the body a good workout, someone asked for help to lift a piano.
Carlyle St under water during the flood in Napier on Monday. Photo / Paul Taylor
"It was good, I enjoyed it," he said 24 hours later. "Some of the carpet was a bit smelly."
On Monday he and Allan have the job of updating Cabinet, with support from Whaitiri said that for many it was just the start of the recovery.
She was and Allan were in Team Tamatea, the minister having to leave for other engagements in the afternoon but Whaitiri being one of the last on the road, ultimately helping in badly-hit Nuffield Avenue, near the clean-up's Whitmore Park base.
They saw entire households cleared of appliances, furniture, carpets and other goods. "Sometimes it would fill up the whole trailer," she said.
But impressing her just as much was the way the community had drawn together to help, from individuals to business with local Māori representative authority Te Taiwhenua Te Whanganui a Orotu, led by chairman Hori Reti, who grew up in Maraenui, one of the areas more severely flooded last Monday night.
The MPs say it will be a long process of recovery, particularly for those among the hundreds of households whose homes had to be inspected to determine whether they could still be lived in.
All 449 assessments were within the boundaries of Napier City, highlighting the localised nature of the storm, with 102 deemed uninhabitable, 24 them severely damage. Of those uninhabitable are on the Napier hills, and 68 on the flats from Marewa and Maraenui to Taradale.
The force of the water wrecked fencing in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor
Even members of the Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby squad have been involved, with eight who hadn't travelled to the team's match against Taranaki joining members of Maraenui Rugby and Sports Association removing carpet, ceiling panels and other items from the clubrooms at the corner of Waterworth and Dinwiddie avenues. Members of the Napier Old Boys Marist Club also pitched in.
While the four-day state of emergency ended on Friday night, an emergency welfare centre has been establish in the Marewa Village Shopping Centre, Kennedy Rd, staffed by representatives of several organisation to help people access services they may need.
Food parcels were continuing to be delivered during the weekend, and more household debris collecting is expected.
Nash said he would be keeping in contact with Wise to ensure the Mayoral Relief Fund had sufficient cash in it and that other assistance from the Government and agencies was enough to help.
