Wake up call for 93-year-old former Napier resident

Palmerston North resident Maria Lukkassen thinks we are ill prepared for a disaster.

When 93-year-old Palmerston North resident Maria Lukkassen heard about the cyclone unfolding in Napier, her thoughts were with old friends she knew from the many years she had lived in the Bay bringing up her family. It also made her realise how unprepared she is for a similar event happening in Manawatu.

Living across from the river, Maria says she needs to do a lot more.

“I need to be better prepared - that’s what everyone needs. It can happen. We’ve got to start thinking.”

Maria believes climate change is now beginning to hit everyone.

“We should all make an effort. It is really getting terrible with all these disasters. We could all do more if we knew what we could do. We have children we want to leave the world in a better place for.”

She says she has a bag ready but it’s not enough.

“I’ve had to have a bag ready in case the river gets high, but it’s really very little. I’ve also had a pack with drinks and dry stuff since Covid.”

Maria believes we are all a bit guilty of complacency.

“We wait until something happens. In New Zealand we live far away from everything - we are so isolated. We are just not prepared.”

She says our country is too small to cope financially with disasters of this magnitude.

“All the orchards and vineyards that are wiped out. It’s terrible.”

Although Maria has a gas cooker, she’s not sure where it is. But she does live in front of her daughter and son-in-law who keep an eye out for her.

“My son-in-law always has a box of stuff ready. He’s very good and looks after me well. None of my friends are very ready. I think New Zealand is too laid-back. It’s going to hit us before we do anything.”