Hawke’s Bay letters: Prepare for battle after Cyclone Gabrielle

Members of the Napier City Rovers' Central League squad swapped their football boots for gumboots and have joined the Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up around Napier. Photo / Napier City Rovers

Isn’t it ironic?

Do any other readers see the irony in Craig Cooper’s column Cyclone’s real stories uplifting, false claims unsettling reinforcing the need for responsible journalism while some of his erstwhile colleagues from NZME made fools of themselves during the time of the cyclone?

Hosking, Hawkesby, du Plessis-Allan and Woodham all erred in their uninformed assessment of the danger. Sure, they didn’t make exaggerated death toll claims - instead, they ridiculed the warnings and people’s reaction to them.

Given what happened over the following two weeks, their comments were just as dangerous and stupid as those made by people on social media.

Garry Bond

Hastings

Prepare for battle

Few would argue that the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle on the region are far worse than first thought.

Property owners will be seeking help from their insurance companies/EQC - to repair their properties.

Insurance companies are not easy to deal with and will quibble about their liability. And are slow at paying.

Those without insurance will probably not have EQC cover.

Local authorities are also not easy to deal with either, and bureaucratic problems further slow the normalisation process.

People should prepare themselves for battles with these organisations.

Unfortunately, they are not as helpful as their glossy brochures appear when one is preparing to take out insurance in the first place.

John Canty

Tamatea