Cyclone Gabrielle: Sheep trapped on Hawke’s Bay rooftop rescued and waiting to be reunited with owners

Sheep trapped on a Hawke’s Bay rooftop by deadly floodwaters have been rescued by emergency crews.

“It looks like Massey University Emergency Response Team (VERT) managed to get the sheep safely off the roof,” an SPCA spokesperson said.

They told the Herald the sheep are now safe with the SPCA waiting for their owners to pick them up today.

Dramatic images of the three sheep huddled on the second-storey roof were shared by the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.

The specialist firefighters arrived in Hawke’s Bay over the weekend to join the area’s recovery effort.

Sheep rescued from the rooftop are now chilling safely in the SPCA paddock. Photo / SPCA

Over social media the department said work was under way to gain access to homes and buildings and conduct searches.

“Our thoughts are with all victims and emergency personnel responding to this disaster.

“We’re lending our transtasman family a helping hand, as they’ve done for us on numerous occasions in recent years.”

For more of our coverage on Cyclone Gabrielle please click here.

The sheep pictured trapped on the roof. Photo / File

Cyclone Gabrielle’s human toll rose to 11 yesterday, with police holding “grave concerns” for up to the same number several days after the monster weather system unleashed across large swathes of the North Island.

Yesterday afternoon, Eastern District commander superintendent, Jeanette Park said more than 3000 people have been found from the 6000 reports of people who could not be contacted.

“Having been up and looked via a helicopter, the devastation is phenomenal across the district.”

There are 5608 registered uncontactable people and 1196 reports from people registering that they are safe. Police are particularly concerned for around 10 of them, deputy police commissioner Glenn Dunbier said in a Beehive briefing.

“We triage the reports of people that are missing, and clearly those we have heightened concerns for will come to the top. It’s a small number that fluctuates day to day as we find people.”

Police are also continuing to investigate a potential further person who could have died as a result of the cyclone.

There was a strict coronial process relating to identification when a body was found, but Dunbier dismissed “rumours rife through the community” that some deaths hadn’t been made public. “As of now, everybody that has been found has been notified [to the public].”