The township of Wairoa under water and in desperate need of help. Defence force aid arrived last night with food and water. Photo / Wairoa District Council
The township of Wairoa under water and in desperate need of help. Defence force aid arrived last night with food and water. Photo / Wairoa District Council
The horrors of Cyclone Bola 1988 became a history-repeating reality for Te Karaka as the entire township was left submerged by Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We have experienced devastation,” Te Karaka School principal Renae Savage said yesterday as the clean-up continued after Gabrielle unleashed its fury, leaving people homeless and the schoolas the town base.
“The main priority for us is to make sure our whānau are safe, fed and warm.
“At the moment the infrastructure of the school is holding up, so it’s now the centre of the community.
“We are just grateful we can supply a warm, dry space for everyone after the damage that has been done to the community.”
“Thankfully the school is available for those who are now homeless.”
She questioned where people would find alternative housing.
“There’s no housing on a normal day.”
Farmer and equestrian teacher Jacquie Manuel and her family had a close escape.
Their Pine Hollow Riding School equestrian arena and paddocks off the state highway into the township were inundated with water as the river breached the stopbanks and covered the whole of the road.
Her son and daughter-in-law ensured their horse and sheep were moved to higher ground as the water started to rise.
The family was able to get over the road to higher ground and stayed the night at the local Civil Defence emergency shelter.
Karl Vercoe and his wife said they “lost everything” after water 700 millimetres high inundated their property, leaving his work car submerged and ruined.
The pair put on a brave face when talking about the damage.
“What’s the point of tears? They only make things wetter,” Mr Vercoe said.
The worst thing was she was unable to let their son in Auckland know they were both safe.
Wairoa latest
The situation in Wairoa is clearer today, with the council’s Facebook page updating the community.
“Wairoa is still isolated both regionally and with areas of the district cut off. We have very limited electricity, and no internet or phone connection. These methods of communication are priorities that are being worked on,” a council Facebook statement said. ”As soon as these facilities are up and running you will be able to make direct contact with your friends and whanau.
“Those people who needed to evacuate their homes are safe and being looked after in the evacuation centres.”
A reconnaissance flight over the cyclone-ravaged East Coast and Hawke's Bay shows Wairoa cut off in the storm. Photo / NZDF
“Hundreds of people have been evacuated mostly from properties surrounding the river catchment.
“The North Clyde side of the town has been hugely impacted.
“We are managing but our isolation means we are severely challenged particularly around food, water supply, fuel and communications.
“At this stage we have enough food, water and fuel for the next few days.”
The situation at Mahia appears to be slightly better.
Rocket Lab communications director Morgan Bailey said there had been no damage to the space company’s rocket launch site and it had successfully made contact with staff on the ground.
“Communications in Mahia are still patchy, but we have been in contact with our team and confirmed they are safe and the launch site is in good condition,” Bailey said.
“At this stage our operations aren’t significantly impacted, but we’ll be assessing this as the regional roading and access situation evolves in the coming days and weeks.
“From what our team tell us and what we can see in social posts from the community, Mahia seems to have fared relatively well as a whole, especially compared with the devastation in Wairoa.
“For now we’re focusing on seeing how our team and equipment might be useful to local response and community groups.”
Patience required in the supermarket lines
People queuing outside Pak’nSave Gisborne. Photo / Gisborne Herald
People were queueing for around one and a half hours to get into Pak’nSave Gisborne this morning, with the line trailing down towards Cobden St and back on itself.
The store has eftpos working but is limiting purchases of milk, eggs, butter and margarine to one per transaction with additional limits on long-life milk, frozen goods and toilet paper.
Security staff are limiting the number of people allowed in at one time and people are waiting another hour to get through the check-out.
The store is providing fresh drinking water and gave out cut watermelon to the shoppers waiting in line this morning.
Network advises to prepare for several days with limited power
Eastland Network, which distributes electricity to the region, is at reduced capacity and asks everyone to please limit their power use to help maintain the level of supply.
There are 4500 customers without power, including more than 1600 affected in Wairoa.
There is no timeframe on when power can be restored to these people, however, that is their number one priority.
