Susane Caccioppoli and Gareth Jones (insets) were swept away from a disintegrating Esk Valley house in the Cyclone Gabrielle flooding in the early hours of February 14, 2023. Jones survived but Caccioppoli did not. The mud seen in the aerial photograph marks the extent of flooding in the Esk Valley. Main photo / RNZ, Sally Murphy
Susane Caccioppoli and Gareth Jones (insets) were swept away from a disintegrating Esk Valley house in the Cyclone Gabrielle flooding in the early hours of February 14, 2023. Jones survived but Caccioppoli did not. The mud seen in the aerial photograph marks the extent of flooding in the Esk Valley. Main photo / RNZ, Sally Murphy
A survivor has described his desperate, unsuccessful attempt to hold onto his friend Susane Caccioppoli as they were both swept away in the raging floodwaters of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Caccioppoli, 55, died in the flood after being swept from a disintegrating house in the Esk Valley in the early hours ofFebruary 14, 2023.
Her friend Gareth Jones said that he “just felt so bad” that he could not hold on to Caccippoli as the flood swept them out of the house which had been torn apart by the flood, and downstream through a shelterbelt of trees.
“I’m sorry to the family. I did everything I could,” he tearfully told the Coroner’s Court in Hastings today.
Freezing cold, after being separated from Caccioppoli, Jones managed to get to a pile of stones near the mouth of the Esk River, where he lapsed into unconsciousness in the dark.
When he came to, the water had receded a little, and he felt warmth from the sun through the clouds.
He then managed to gain the attention of a man on the shore with a bulldozer, who rescued him. Locals gave him first aid and took him in the tray of a ute to the Bay View fire station.
After weeks in hospital, Jones later took a posy of flowers to the spot where Caccioppoli’s body was found by a man out walking on Bay View beach, north of Napier.
Jones became emotional today as he described how he and Caccioppoli had become trapped by rising waters in the house at 101 Eskdale Drive, at the rear of a citrus orchard on the south side of the Esk River.
Jones had been house-sitting the property and was working on February 13 to make it “immaculate” for the owners, who were due to return the next day.
Susane Caccioppoli died in the Napier flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Caccioppoli came around to help him and Jones described how they both became trapped in the house as floodwaters rapidly rose around them.
They were eventually forced to take refuge in the roof space, where they had a conversation about how they had no way to escape and were likely to die.
Caccioppoli said “It’s okay, I’m happy”, before calling her daughter on her phone.
“She was the best Mum. A very kind person,” Bryan said.
She told the inquest that she spent the next two days without sleep, searching for her mother.
Bryan gained the first information about what had happened to her from media reports.
She was told on February 16 that a body had been found but Caccioppoli was not formally identified until February 19.
Jones tells of trying to hold onto friend
As the house broke apart, Jones said he grabbed hold of Caccioppoli and told her not to let go of him.
As the water took them away from the house, he had her in a lifesaving position and they managed to keep together as they were swept through the shelterbelt.
Gareth Jones was lucky to survive the floodwaters, but his friend Susane Caccioppoli died. Photo / RNZ, Reece Baker
“It was like being beaten by boys with sticks. It was torture,” Jones said, but he still had a hold of his friend as they came out the other side.
Then Jones felt something hit his head and his foot became snagged, dragging him underwater.
He felt “immense pain” as he ripped his foot from whatever was holding him down.
After he resurfaced, he looked around for Caccioppoli but could not see her.
Then, after a while, he felt his feet hit gravel and he managed to scramble on to a pile of stones.
After being rescued, he was taken to hospital and then allowed home for a few days before being readmitted when his wounded foot developed necrosis.
Long-running inquiry
The aftermath of massive flooding that swept through the Esk Valley during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / RNZ, Sally Murphy
Coroner Erin Woolley resumed hearings in Hastings today in a long-running inquiry into deaths linked to the extreme weather events of early 2023.
She is investigating the circumstances surrounding 19 deaths altogether.
Four people died during the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods a fortnight before the cyclone. Nine died as Cyclone Gabrielle battered the east coast. Two firefighters were killed at Muriwai.
The coroner is also investigating the disappearance of a man driving from Napier to Gisborne on the night of Cyclone Gabrielle and three later deaths suspected to have been suicides.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.
