Construction work on the 1260-metre Whirinaki residential stopbank will begin on Monday, February 23.
Construction work on the 1260-metre Whirinaki residential stopbank will begin on Monday, February 23.
Three years after Cyclone Gabrielle, a Whirinaki couple say they have at last found peace of mind, after Hawke’s Bay Regional Council confirmed their Category 2C property no longer has a risk category attached to it.
Pōhutukawa Drive residents Lyn and Art Noanoa were out for dinner when council staffcame knocking, hand-delivering letters to 38 residents in their street and parts of North Shore Rd.
“We soon heard about it when we got home and found the letter in our letterbox,” Lyn said.
“It was really cool. The council promised us that once work started on the stopbank, our properties would move out of Category 2C. They have kept their promise and we now have peace of mind.”
The groundbreaking $23 million flood resilience project at Whirinaki, a small coastal settlement about 18km north of Napier, was announced in November 2023.
It includes raising and strengthening stopbanks by raising a section of State Highway 2, and upgrading its culverts.
But the project hit a roadblock in January 2025 when funding from Transport Rebuild East Coast (Trec) dried up.
The Government’s North Island Weather Events programme (NIWE) stepped in, committing $209 million, managed by National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFF), to seven major flood resilience projects across Hawke’s Bay, including Whirinaki.
Works on a 1260-metre Whirinaki residential stopbank will start on Monday.
Regional councillor Louise Parsons said it was a significant step forward for Whirinaki.
“For the households who’ve been living with Category 2C, it brings clarity and certainty,” she said.
She said that although the risk had been reduced to an acceptable level, it did not mean flooding would never happen again.
Lyn said the category label’s removal would make a huge difference for those in the area wanting to move on.
Whirinaki residents Lyn and Art Noanoa say they have peace of mind at last as their home moves out of Category 2C.
“While we are not planning on going anywhere, others can now sell their homes, if they want to, get insurance, and anyone buying in the area can get a mortgage. It’s like a weight taken off our shoulders.”
Regional council chair Sophie Siers said it was exactly the kind of outcome NIWE was set up to support.
“The NIWE programme has given affected Category 2C communities a way to stay in their homes,” she said.
“It’s been a long journey for Whirinaki, but removing this risk category can give people confidence that risk has been reduced and that stronger protection is now being put in place.”
She said it was thanks to partners – Petane Marae, Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust, Pan Pac, NZTA Waka Kotahi, Hastings District Council, and Central Government through NIFF - that the council was able to get this project moving.
But most of all it was a tribute to the resilience of the Whirinaki community.
“Thank you for your patience, your persistence and for staying the course.”
Lyn said the council had been through some “disastrous days of no communication” but were “finally delivering what they promised”.
“I hope the lessons learned are passed down to the next generation of councillors so no one needs to go through this again.
“Long may this council live.”
What land categorisation meant at Whirinaki
Introduced by central government after Cyclone Gabrielle, the land categorisation process was used to assess future flood risk and guide recovery decisions – including whether community-scale flood resilience projects could realistically reduce that risk.
Homes without a workable infrastructure pathway to reduce risk were categorised as Category 3, effectively a red zone, and were offered a buyout to relocate. The majority of those nearly 150 homes were in nearby Eskdale and Pakowhai.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
