The extent of damage to storm-ravaged Wairoa from Cyclone Gabrielle was 'beyond belief' says Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty. Photo / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence
The extent of damage to storm-ravaged Wairoa from Cyclone Gabrielle was 'beyond belief' says Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty. Photo / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence
Opinion
EDITORIAL
The first footage yesterday finally emerged from the northern Hawke’s Bay town of Wairoa, cut off from the world after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the region.
Twenty-four hours previously, Emergency Response Minister Kieran McAnulty suggested during a press briefing from the Beehive Theatrette that this town was of the mostconcern. “When we know what the need is we’re confident we can meet it, but when we can’t get into a community it’s hard to know what the need is and how much damage there is.”
The knockout blow of damage to the Mohaka Bridge on SH2 would have also severed fibre cable service to the district.
After days of alerts being sounded in Auckland and Northland, worrying predictions were more than justified. But it was the East Coast of the North Island where Cyclone Gabrielle meted out as much harm as anywhere.
One person died after a landslip on her property in northern Hawke’s Bay and another person’s body was found on a storm-ravaged beach.
Extensive flooding at the Pan Pac Forest Products mill at Whirinaki in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied
With no lines of communication open, Wairoa was unable to let the world know a quarter of the township had been swamped by the overflowing Wairoa River. In the low-lying town, alongside a bend in the river, up to half of the 8500 population had to move to hastily arranged accommodation.
After what must have felt like an interminable age, Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence was finally able to share images yesterday showing the inundation of the town and revealing the challenges facing its embattled residents.
It was only possible to get word out via the Starlink system, a standalone wi-fi connection that is accessible only to the Emergency Operations Centre. Civil Defence says the rest of the Wairoa District is still without access to mobile and wi-fi connections. A lone satellite phone had run out of battery.
The images were frightful but the messages that came with them were even more chilling. Wairoa had only one day’s worth of food and enough drinking water for two days.
The engorged Wairoa River flows through the township. Photo / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence
The situation is improving rapidly, thanks to herculean efforts by emergency services, lines companies and communications staff. An estimated 225,000 North Island properties were without power on Tuesday. By yesterday, that had reduced to 144,000.
Making contact has enabled needs to be assessed and McAnulty says the Defence Force is likely to be deployed. He says military, police and FENZ have provided every assistance requested and that is reassuring.
Wairoa is a very connected community, within itself. It has worked hard on resilience since Cyclone Bola, 35 years ago. The district has built a sealed airfield, with enough capacity to land a C130. The hospital is large and sited on a hill.
This week we’ll see more of the tragedies, and the courage of communities, from Waipapa to Muriwai to Esk Valley.
McAnulty told RNZ the Wairoa situation was “pretty much beyond belief”, and he was right to be concerned while communication was lost. When it was restored, we were pretty quickly reminded how tough our communities can hang. Wairoa, as much as any.
