Self-appointed river monitor and concerned local Roddy Hapati Pihema discovers a freedom camper was still parked in a flood-prone area at Kawakawa, despite his earlier warning.
A woman and her dog asleep in a van at a riverside freedom camping area in Kawakawa could have been swept away in Friday night’s heavy rain if it weren’t for the actions of a local man.
Roddy Hapati Pihema, a father of six, community board member and chair ofthe Taumatamakuku residents’ association, is also a kind of self-appointed flood monitor as part of his role with a local civil defence group.
Having lived in the area all his life, he is aware that the carpark at Te Hononga Hundertwasser Memorial Park Kawakawa is built on reclaimed land, prone to inundation by the nearby Waiomio Stream during heavy rain and high tides.
Roddy Hapati Pihema. Photo / NZME
Pihema had already seen the van earlier in a low-lying part of the car park area and, given that day’s weather warning, advised its occupant to move it to higher ground.
However, when he went to check on the situation again about 8pm, the van was still in the same place but up to the tops of its wheels in floodwaters, the woman asleep inside.
With high tide expected at 8.30pm, Pihema – using a torch to navigate the darkness – waded through the water and banged on the side of the van until the woman woke up.
Pihema feared the vehicle would have floated off within half an hour if it had been left there.
The woman was scared and wanted him to drive the van out of the water for her, but Pihema was soaked through from waist-deep water in another part of the parking area, likely to have been contaminated with sewage.
He guided her to safety, reassuring her as she reversed the van out of the high water to where he’d earlier recommended she go.
“I didn’t even have time to think – flood waters and an incoming tide,” Pihema said. “But I didn’t care. The goal was get her out of there. Priority: safety.”
The rescue was made more challenging by Pihema’s own health. He had recently had oral surgery and was also recovering from a chest infection, and he was meant to be on stay-at-home orders from his doctor.
“I know I’m not supposed to take risks. But then again, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t put it on the line.”
After the incident, Pihema said it was frustrating that bystanders had watched the situation but not intervened.
“To the spectators that were just standing there watching as the flood engulfed this poor woman and her van – this could have been your family, your loved one, and you would have just stood there.
“Kaitiakitanga is not a choice – it’s a responsibility,” he said.
Part of a riverside carpark behind Te Hononga, the Hundertwasser Memorial Park in Kawakawa, is on reclaimed land and is prone to flooding in heavy rain at high tide. Photo / Mike Dinsdale
Pihema said it was “about the fourth or fifth time” he’d had to go to someone’s aid in similar conditions. Warning signs in the area weren’t enough to deter people from parking there in dangerous weather conditions.
If the night had proved one thing, it’s that not everyone will make informed decisions, Pihema said.
“And if they do this again and someone like me ain’t around, then it will be highly likely that we will see a drowning,” he said.
The community board member wants the Far North District Council to formalise a river kaitiaki (guardian) role with the authority to insist people move from unsafe places.
It did not necessarily need to be a role for him, but would also suit another knowledgeable local.
“Some spaces require a mātauranga Māori lens. You cannot learn these lessons in a classroom. It comes from decades of interactions with our environment.”
He and other local volunteers, including Pamela-Anne Simon-Baragwanath, Mike Butler and Charlotte Butler, regularly monitor flood-prone areas using their own time and resources.
“We don’t do it for money. We do it because people matter.”
In a later email to the volunteer group, the Northland Regional Council’s emergency management specialist, Bill Hutchinson, thanked Pihema for rescuing the woman.
It’s not known where she is, so the Northern Advocate was not able to contact her for comment.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent reporting on the courts in Gisborne and the East Coast.