Cyclone Gabrielle: Karekare survivors share flood story: ‘It’s a miracle our baby survived’

The Karekare family was caught in a terrifying wave of mud, rubble and glass when their house slid down a hill. Photo / Woman's Day

As they waited for Cyclone Gabrielle to hit, Nick and Corinne Hayward weren’t overly worried. During the nearly eight years they had lived at Karekare, on Auckland’s west coast, they had weathered a few storms and always felt safe in their house up among the trees at the top of a valley.

“And at first, that evening was very calm,” recalls Corinne. “There was no wind or rain – nothing.”

Once their children Onyx, 3, and 1-year-old Riggs were in bed, the wind began to pick up and the rain got heavier, then torrential. “It felt like you could walk out onto the deck and swim into the sky,” reflects Nick.

A friend sent a message to say her place up the coast in Piha was flooding and, at that point, the couple decided to bring the kids downstairs to sleep in the living room together in case they needed to get out fast.

“Riggs was in a porta-cot and Onyx was on the couch with me,” explains Corrine. “Nick kept going round the property to check everything was okay. The rain was relentless and the road was like a river, but the house seemed fine.”

Hearing some crashing and banging sounds, they assumed trees were falling, but what they now know is the noise was caused by huge boulders crashing down into the valley.

The couple had always felt safe in their house up among the trees at the top of a valley. Photo / Woman's Day

Ever since Cyclone Gabrielle lashed New Zealand back in February, Corinne, 35, and Nick, 36, have been trying to piece together exactly what happened next. They remember that by 2am, the storm seemed to be easing. Nick did a last check, then settled down to try and sleep. Corinne said a little prayer as she closed her eyes.

“I just said, ‘Please keep us safe. Let us get through this.’ And then I heard the most incredible sound I’ve heard in my life.”

She yelled out to Nick that something was happening and he grabbed a torch. The next moment, the whole house started to move and, dropping the torch, Nick threw himself over the porta-cot to protect baby Riggs while Corinne hung onto little Onyx as tightly as she could.

“It was like being stuck in a wave except, instead of water, we were in mud, rubble and glass,” she recalls. “Trees were crashing down onto the roof and snapping the wooden beams like they were matchsticks. The house was caving in on us, and tumbling down the hill with this terrible sound of cracking and breaking. Everything happened so fast but at the same time felt like it was never going to stop.”

It was pitch black, so it is impossible to be sure, but they think a falling tree broke the house in half and, as it was crashing down the hill, they were all thrown out.

Corinne found herself in the rubble still protecting Onyx with her body, although the couch they had been lying on was gone. Screaming for help, she managed to pull them out. To her relief, Nick called back, but he was about 10 metres further down the hill and there was a waterfall of mud between them.

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“When I landed, I was squashed between bits of the wall and they were holding me up off the ground,” tells Nick. “I could see the light of my torch a little way below my feet and knew we’d only get out if we could see where we were going, so I managed to twist upside down and grab it. That’s when Riggs started crying.”

Neither of them had ever been so happy to hear their baby cry. When Nick shone the torchlight on him, it became clear how miraculous his survival was.

“The cot was crushed until it was just the size of a baby around him,” says Nick. “If it had been crushed very much more on either side, then it would have been a very different story.”

With Riggs under his arm like a rugby ball and the torch in his mouth, Nick fought his way out through the mud, following the sound of Corinne’s voice. He found her and Onyx, covered in mud and blood, but otherwise okay.

As they waited for Cyclone Gabrielle to hit, Nick and Corinne Hayward had not been overly worried. Photo / Woman's Day

At that point, the children were still in their sleepsacks, while Corinne and Nick were barefoot in pyjamas. The house they loved and everything they owned had been destroyed.

“Still, there was a moment when we just stood there looking at each other, realising all four of us were alive,” says Corinne.

To reach their nearest neighbour meant a steep climb up a muddy bank. Clinging to his mother’s back as she struggled through the debris, Onyx was cheering Corinne on, saying, “Go, Mama, you can do it!” all the way up the hill.

There was a surreal moment knocking on their neighbour’s door, waking them up and telling them what had happened. And from then on, the family was dependent on the generosity of other people.

After four days, the family was helicoptered out, with Wolfie in a backpack. Photo / Woman's Day

“Nobody had any power or water, but word got out in the community about what had happened, and people were bringing us nappies, toys and clothes,” says Corinne. “There was so much kindness, it was unbelievable.”

With the roads blocked and communications down, there was a lot of anxiety for everyone, but there were also moments of joy, such as finding their 12-year-old dog Wolfie alive in the mud pile the next day.

After four days, the family was helicoptered out, Wolfie in a backpack, and since then, they have been coping with the aftermath of the landslide. They’ve had to pay council rates on a property that is now just a mud-pile and are dealing with lawyers, an insurance company and the Earthquake Commission. It may take at least a year to resolve their case.

Nick works as a director of photography on Shortland Street and Corinne, a nurse, is a medical adviser on the TV show. They’ve never had to ask for help before but are hugely grateful that assistance is out there. Friends, family and total strangers have supported them, and for a while, they lived in temporary housing provided by community trust Visionwest.

“We call the caravan the Downpour Dodger". Photo / Woman's Day

“We’re so grateful to everyone and want to take this chance to thank them,” says Corinne.

Once they had their contents-insurance payout, the couple invested in a caravan and were offered a place to park it. Every day has its challenges and the future remains uncertain, but Nick and Corinne are trying to make caravan life feel like an adventure. Onyx, in particular, has nightmares and is fearful when it rains.

“We call the caravan the Downpour Dodger and have told him this is the safest place from the rain, where nothing can get us,” tells Corinne.

This summer, they plan to get away in the caravan for long weekends, taking the kids on adventures and exploring New Zealand.

“We’re going to make the most of those moments,” says Nick. “What we’ve been through has helped us realise that the most important thing is making memories.”

Corinne and Nick have set up a website to fund their caravan life, and would be grateful to anyone who feels they can help. Search for “Hayward family” on givealittle.co.nz.