Shaun Shadbolt and Raven lost everything after their flat in Maungaturoto was inundated with floodwaters. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Shaun Shadbolt and Raven lost everything after their flat in Maungaturoto was inundated with floodwaters. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The severe weather forecast for this week will add to the woes of Northlanders reeling from Friday’s floods, including a woman who had to be rescued in a tractor.
The drama on Friday afternoon unfolded on a large residential section on Hurndall St in Maungatūroto where four families and three individuals live in separate flats completely surrounded by a river next to the Fonterra factory.
Two families living in the downstairs flats lost all their household belongings and are currently staying with family and friends nearby while a woman upstairs and a couple in a separate standalone house on stilts were unaffected.
To avoid the same fate Civil Defence Northland is urging people to prepare for the worst after MetService issued the region’s first-ever red warning for heavy rain - reserved for only the most extreme weather events.
Strong winds, torrential rain, and severe thunderstorms are expected to hammer the region today.
Shaun Shadbolt, his wife and three kids could not salvage any household goods from their home Hurndall St on Friday and are waiting to dump piles of furniture, bedding and other essential items.
A woman was rescued from this green cabin in the bucket of a tractor at Maungaturoto. Photo / Supplied
They are now staying with a friend nearby.
“We’ve been here four years and this was by far the worst flooding. We are basically an island, surrounded by water and the water comes down the Brynderwyns and feeds into this river.
“We picked the kids up on Friday afternoon and went up the road. Five minutes later, we couldn’t return home. The whole place was under about half a metre of water. Everything happened so fast,” he lamented.
His wife was supposed to start a new job on Friday and with schools set to open soon for the new year, Shadbolt is uncertain of their future.
He thanked his landlord for doing everything he possibly could have done, a local church for donating groceries and others in the community who reached out.
Victoria Paikea lives upstairs and while she was lucky the floodwaters didn’t get that far up, her mother who lives in a cabin a few metres away had to be rescued.
With her driveway impassable to light vehicles, her mum was transported to safety in the bucket of a tractor. She is staying with Paikea for now.
Paikea’s electric car is probably a write-off. She recalled driving home through floodwaters about 5pm on Friday.
“I was just about to evacuate everyone when the floodwaters doubled and there was no way we could get out.
“I knew this area was prone to flooding but never this bad. Fences were getting wiped out and a whole fridge and a trampoline were floating in the water. We were very fortunate upstairs,” she said.
Flooding is a major concern for the region’s emergency response teams if the predicted onslaught of wet weather eventuates.
Northland Civil Defence controller Graeme MacDonald said with the newly-forecast heavy rain coming on top of the constant heavy rain battering the region streams and rivers may rise rapidly and become dangerous.
“Have a plan in case you need to evacuate, keep up to date with the lasted information and weather conditions, and most importantly avoid any non-essential travel tomorrow and potentially Wednesday morning - if you must drive, please drive to the conditions and keep an eye out for hazards.”
