Napier residents are banding together to hand out supermarket vouchers, free food and spare clothes after Cyclone Gabrielle’s devastating storm, yet there are also growing fears of lawlessness among some residents.
Some stressed residents have been seen squabbling and fighting in petrol and food queues, while others are taking tosocial media to warn of thieves preying on victims of the flooding.
Napier resident Brayde Tuahine said the stress of so many people still being without power and struggling to access essential supplies was “starting to get to everyone”.
She was at BP Carlyle in the city this morning when an ugly shouting match erupted in the petrol queue.
“Everyone should just have patience for everyone. Everyone needs to remember that everyone’s going through it at the moment, not just them.”
She was hoping to get enough petrol to make it back to Waipatu Marae in Hastings, where her baby is staying with his nannies, she said.
Elsewhere, one Facebook user yesterday posted in a community page that “thieves are thriving” in the aftermath of the storm.
Police intervened after a shouting match broke out at a the BP Carlyle in Napier.
He claimed thieves had stolen handtools, chainsaws, concrete cutting equipment and other power tools from four separate road and utility work utes on Tuesday night.
The workers were all in the area to try and restore vital road and other networks to the community and had been staying in emergency accommodation away from their families, the man said.
He said his teams were already struggling to keep up with the vast amounts of work that needed doing.
“I wish you’d taken my ute instead and left the damn chainsaw and tools behind,” he said in his post.
“I only hope you’re doing some good with the gear and helping many of the distraught people around our city. I don’t have the energy to express my anger after the massive hours our crews are putting in out there.”
Another Facebook user asked whether anyone wanted to join him in doing night time patrols of the community to try and stop the burglaries.
He posted a photo of a truck with a digger on the back of it that had been broken into.
“No doubt this driver/operator has been helping and scumbags do this,” he wrote.
There were also reports of gunshots being fired yesterday afternoon.
Yet - despite these isolated incidents - many other social media users posted about their pride and happiness at the way so many were banding together to help each other.
That included butchers and local restaurants giving away free food, commercial restaurants opening up their kitchens for others to cook in and residents posting pictures of spare clothes that can be given to those in need.
Elsewhere an army of volunteers has been reported coming out to devastated areas across the region to lend a hand - whether in a digger or truck, or with spade or food in hand.
Kirsty Skidmore is among those amazed by the help, the Hawke’s Bay Today reports.
She is doing her best to dig out and empty her elderly parents’ home on Joll Rd.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst with Napier Boys' High School students and other volunteers helping out at flood ravaged homes on Joll Rd. Photo / Supplied.
They were rescued by neighbours, as water from the creek behind their property became a two-metre-high torrent on Tuesday.
“The help from friends, family, strangers - just the entire community and people we don’t even know - has just been incredible and we are so, so grateful. We couldn’t get through this without them,’’ Skidmore said.
Finding fuel in Napier a ‘nightmare’ - resident
However, many daily challenges for Napier residents remain.
Resident Ayeisha Harriette Lewis - who is an essential worker caring for disabled whānau - said it was a nightmare to get fuel anywhere in the city.
“They are refusing people, even essential workers for fuel. There are many, many essential workers who need fuel to get to their clients, some disabled and unable to care for themselves, and we are still being turned away,” she said.
Lewis said her clients need her but “we are left with no way of getting to work”.
“Some are open, however, the lines are over 300 cars long and they are not prioritising essential workers. It’s a nightmare.”
This morning, at 5am the fuel line was already metres long, she said.
Unison, the company which owns and operates Hawke’s Bay’s power network, also urged people to conserve power wherever they can.
The Herald also understands a temporary morgue has been set up at Napier Port by police and the New Zealand Defence Force.
There are fears more people will be found dead in the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle.
The number of fatalities from the disaster stands at seven, however, police have grave concerns for some of the 3500 who are still uncontactable.
“And we do need to be prepared for the likelihood that there will be more fatalities,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said yesterday.
Darryl Grant with his sister-in-law's dog Lucy, after rescuing her from the family property at Pakowhai.
Marewa Pharmacy was also without power but its doors have been open since 9am today.
Manager Debbie Bryan said people should bring their pill containers with them so pharmacists can see what medication they are on and give them a further 14-day supply.
This was because the pharmacy didn’t have access to their computer database without power, she said.
“We’re mainly seeing people who are either running short of their medication, or have run out of their medication, or medication that has been lost in the floods,” she said.
“So we have to redirect people to go and get new prescriptions if it has been lost in the floods because we’ve got nothing to work with.”
People should go to the walk-in medical centre on Munroe St in this situation, she said.
