Flash flooding and slips brought by Cyclone Gabrielle left dozens of rural Hastings communities isolated.
Flash flooding and slips brought by Cyclone Gabrielle left dozens of rural Hastings communities isolated.
It has been three weeks since Cyclone Gabrielle devastated our district, and we are still in a National State of Emergency.
For those who may not know how the system works, our National State of Emergency is a Government-led response by Nema (National Emergency Management Agency).
Nema co-ordinates with ouron-the-ground Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management group, made of up Civil Defence, all of our region’s councils, the armed forces, Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz), and many other national and regional emergency and welfare agencies. We are all in this together, working alongside each other with all hands on the pump to get the job done.
Every day brings new information and challenges for our people who have been most affected by this, and our teams working to help them.
It is truly a difficult time for all our communities and my thoughts are with everyone affected, every day.
There are 11 isolated communities: Tūtira, Waikoau, Rissington, Patoka, Puketitiri, Dartmoor, Te Hāroto, Te Pōhue, Pūtōrino, Kaiwaka and Waihau. Each of these areas has a recovery hub run by members of the community. I’d like to acknowledge and thank them for all their efforts. They are doing an amazing job under very difficult circumstances.
These communities and another 23 small pockets of rural homes which are unreachable by normal roads are being supplied via helicopter and Unimog.
Hastings District Council and Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence are working with multiple agencies, including health, MPI, Winz and iwi liaison, to ensure the needs of these communities are met, including sending specialists from these organisations into the isolated areas.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst with Napier Boys' High School students and other Joll Road volunteers.
To the people in these communities, please know you are a priority, and we are working hard to reach you.
There are also community hubs operating in the highly impacted areas, including Puketapu, Esk Valley and Bayview. These were set up by the community, and we also acknowledge and thank them for their outstanding efforts. These are now being supported by Hastings District Council and a range of other partners.
We are in the process of setting up a mobile hub for Pākōwhai, Twyford and other affected areas that do not have a location for a community hub. We intend for this to be operational by the end of the week.
Water
We have been able to reinstate the water supply for Whirinaki, Esk Ridge and Esk Hills. However, they are under a boil water notice (as is Te Pōhue) while more work is done. The Hastings main and the rest of the small communities’ supply lines are operating as normal.
Roads
Establishing connectivity by road is a priority. There are nearly 100 road crews, mostly HDC contractors – that is about 1000 people working on these sites at any one time.
Since Cyclone Gabrielle occurred, we have re-established access to over 800 kilometres of our road network for residential and essential services. We have also opened the Rissington low-level causeway for essential services, lifeline and residential access.
In the last week, we have been able to give our isolated communities the most up-to-date information we have on the state of the roads, and when some of them can be expected to be re-opened. There are still many for which we require a greater level of technical information before our teams can firm up dates for when they might be able to be used.
Hastings District Council waste teams have continued clearing flood-damaged household goods from the most affected areas, and the programme will continue until all affected communities have been reached. Within our urban areas, we have been able to reinstate regular kerbside rubbish and recycling collections following repairs at the landfill.
Hastings Civil Defence centres
We are pleased to have found temporary housing for the last of our people needing emergency accommodation, so have been able to return the Flaxmere Community Centre to its normal community use. While the Hastings Sports Centre is no longer needed for evacuees, it is still being used for other purposes.
More than 500 people were cared for in our two Hastings District Council centres.
In addition to these centres, Hastings District Council has supported community-led centres at Waipatu Marae, Te Aranga Marae, the Malamalama Samoan Church, the Cook Island Hall, St. Andrews Hall and Ascend Church. Food, water and items such as bedding, clothing and towels have been supplied by the council and via community donations to support those needing shelter/accommodation.
Rapid building assessment on flood-damaged houses and public buildings is almost completed, and council teams are working with affected homeowners to understand the next steps if their homes have been issued a red or yellow sticker. People with any questions can contact the customer service team at HDC, who will put them through to the right people.
Health and wellbeing
Last week, Civil Defence opened a free 0800 number for members of the community to access support.
Anyone who needs health and wellbeing support, including mental health, accommodation needs, ongoing food, household goods and services support, animal welfare and rural support, can now phone one number - 0800 117 672 - for help.
If you have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, you can apply for assistance from the Hawke’s Bay Disaster Relief Fund.
The fund offers a maximum of $1,000 per household or $2,000 for organisations, marae and community groups as one one-off grant to alleviate hardship due to flooding, prolonged power outages and landslips.
For the rural community, applications can be extended to provide some assistance for emergency funding requirements for livestock and stock disposal. Applications can be made at hbrc.info/HBDisasterFund.
We remain thankful for the support of the New Zealand Defence Force, Civil Defence, MPI, Fenz, Urban Search and Rescue, and all the other agencies who are working tirelessly to help and support us.
As always, thank you to our amazing Hastings community for all your efforts. Please look after yourselves and each other.
