The number of people recorded with police as uncontactable following Cyclone Gabrielle is now officially at zero, however, authorities are still searching for missing man Joseph Ahuriri.
Police said hundreds of staff across the country worked to contact and locate more than 6000 people previously on the list.
The majority of those listed were from the Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti areas, police said.
“While reaching this milestone is a noteworthy achievement, Police also remember those families who are grieving for the loss of loved ones during this event. Our condolences go out to those affected.”
A total of 11 people were confirmed to have died in circumstances related to Cyclone Gabrielle; nine of those were from the Eastern district, and two were volunteer firefighters in Muriwai.
Police said they are still investigating the case of missing man Joseph Ahuriri, who was last seen on CCTV on the morning of February 14 in Havelock North, heading south as the cyclone began to batter the region.
Ahuriri left home in Gisborne on February 13 at about 4pm, heading to Napier, and intending to return around 2am the next day.
Ahuriri’s family said the father of eight had been visiting whanau in Hawke’s Bay that day and planned to return home to Gisborne but decided not to because of worsening weather.
He was driving a white Toyota Hilux, registration DZH116.
Eastern District Commander Superintendent Jeanette Park has previously said police inquiries suggested it was unlikely that his disappearance was cyclone related, “although this cannot be fully ruled out”.
Mike Ahuriri, Joseph’s older brother, has strongly disagreed with the police’s finding.
Anyone with information that may help police is asked to contact Police on 105, or via https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 using “Update Report” and quote file number 230225/2804.
Ian McKenzie McLauchlan, 76, was located deceased in Waiohiki on February 17, police said. His obituary stated he was dearly loved by his wife and had two children.
Brendan Lewis Miller, 43, died after his work truck is believed to have washed away in floodwaters after it was driven over a collapsed bridge. His body was retrieved from the Kikowhero stream by a neighbour in Crownthorpe.
Police said he was located deceased on February 18.
His obituary described him as “one of life’s characters, and a good friend to many”.
He had one son, described as his “shining star”.
Helen Street died in her home in Onekawa “in circumstances related to Cyclone Gabrielle” on February 16, police said.
Susane Caccioppoli, a “devoted and protective” mother, who survived breast cancer twice, died after being swept away by rising floodwaters that hit the Hawke’s Bay home that she and her friend were housesitting.
Susane’s daughter Bianka-Lee Bryan confirmed on social media that her mother had died.
Bryan described her mother as a cheerful, welcoming, and kind constant who was available to everyone at any time for a coffee, a chat and a laugh.
“She will be remembered as a devoted and protective mother, oma, daughter and sister, with so much love to give,” Bryan said in the emotional tribute on social media.
“She was gifted with a voice of an angel, blessing everyone at the local country music club for many years. She was always happiest when with her family.”
The younger of Ella and Jack Collins’ two daughters died after she was swept from her pregnant mum’s shoulders as the family tried to reach safety at a neighbour’s house, after the Esk River sent a torrent of water through homes across the Esk Valley, north of Napier, early Tuesday.
They’d woken at 3am to discover water in the house, soon realising their lives were in danger, Jack’s brother Adam Collins told the Herald.
Mum Ella Collins described Ivy - “our beautiful baby girl” - as a “bright shining light... [who] charged through life with a beautiful smile on her face regardless of what stood in her way”.
The impact of their daughter’s loss would last forever, Ella Collins said.
“Right now it seems an insurmountable mountain but we have each other; my husband Jack, our daughter Imogen, our baby due in August and our families, friends and community.”
Rescuers tried three times to reach John Coates after floodwaters engulfed his home in Te Karaka, 30km northwest of Gisborne, at 2am on Tuesday.
“It went from ankle deep to vehicles floating in 20 minutes ... It was like an inland tsunami of water coming in, basically”, son Chris Coates told the Herald of the flooding caused when the Waipāoa River breached in multiple places.
The farmer, who also ran an earth-moving company, was a “huge member of the community”, Te Karaka resident Shawn Smyth said.
“John Coates Earthmoving, he does all the forestry, roading for all of the Mangatu ... everyone will know that name,” Smyth said.
A much-loved mum described by her daughter Rachel as “generous and kind”, Marie Greene died when the Tūtaekurī River burst its banks and sent a torrent of water towards the settlement of Puketapu.
The son of Greene’s landlord found her body in her cottage, 13km northwest of Napier.
“She had the sort of personality that everyone gravitated towards. She was an all-round people person who loved being with her friends and family. She was a smiling face on the checkout at New World in Greenmeadows,” the 59-year-old’s cousin Lance Julian said.
The Taranaki rugby league community is mourning the death of local club stalwart George Luke, the father of former Kiwis star Issac Luke, after he died following a slip on the Taihape-Napier road as Cyclone Gabrielle swept over.
Luke and his partner Mau Goodman were returning to Hastings from Rotorua and took the winding route over the Kaweka Ranges when bad weather closed the Napier-Taupo road.
When the family did not hear from them a desperate search was launched, with appeals being made on social media.
They were eventually located and evacuated by helicopter separately and flown to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in Hastings, where Luke later died.
A mum of three teens, Shona Wilson died when a slip crashed through her home in Tūtira, north of Napier.
Her partner, Bill Chrystal - who survived along with Wilson’s daughter - dug for several hours in the dark through up to four metres of mud in an unsuccessful attempt to save his partner of nine years.
The slip crashed through a bedroom in the corner of the house on a Matahoura Rd lifestyle block, about 4am on Tuesday, Chrystal told his son Kalin.
Had the slip been a metre closer, all three would have likely perished, said Kalin, who was flown into the area by helicopter.
The widow of the volunteer firefighter, veterinarian and father killed in a slip at Muriwai described him as the “cornerstone” of her family’s lives.
Dave van Zwanenberg died helping evacuate residents and is being remembered for his good humour, his authentic care, his intelligence and supreme competence at anything he turned his hand to.
Widow Amy van Zwanenberg said her family are utterly devastated by their loss.
“First and foremost, a family man, Dave was dedicated to spending quality time with his children and building a life to nurture their growth,” Amy van Zwanenberg said.
Muriwai firefighter Craig Stevens died in hospital two days after he was critically injured in the same slip that killed his colleague Dave van Zwanenberg.
“He grabbed life with both hands and shook it into submission, no matter what the situation,” friend Alex Leech said.
Stevens once said his mum told him to walk into any room like he owned the place, and “he sure did do that”, Leech said.
“Well stand aside Jesus, there’s a new guy in charge of heaven now.”
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