Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has returned from Gisborne where he says people are in a “state of shock” at the utter devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
He returned to Wellington after a few hours in Gisborne this morning and is expected to visit Hawke’s Bay in the coming days, where rescues of stranded people were still being carried out today.
The number of fatalities stands at five, Hipkins said, but “we do need to prepare for the likelihood there will be more fatalities.”
A major issue, the prime minister told reporters this afternoon, was people being unable to contact each other and the Government was working as fast as possible to fix this. Two fibre cables into the region had been damaged. Ten more Starlink units were on the way. Five had been delivered to Wairoa and Hawke’s Bay.
SH2, a vital supply line on the east coast, has been opened on a limited basis to Gisborne for emergency supplies. Wairoa and Hawke’s Bay had also been accessed by road today.
“It is clear there are some really big challenges facing that community at the moment,” Hipkins said of Gisborne.
However, he said he did not know how long it would take to get fresh water, power and communications back up and running in the worst-hit areas.
Hipkins said the level of destruction and response required was as bad as the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
“There are still people for whom the police hold grave concerns. We need to be prepared for the likelihood of future fatalities.”
Fresh water was a major issues, Hipkins said, but supplies were on the way to where required. The Defence Force was bringing in supplies on two ships and through other means.
Roading damage was also a significant issue and people were urged to minimise travel to help with repair work and supplies.
About 102,000 people were still without power across the North Island.
Hipkins said $1 million has been released Gisborne authorities through the mayoral top-up fund and a further $1m to Hawke’s Bay.
He said there have been more than 450 rescues and which had gone through the 111 system had been completed.
“That’s great news and I’m sure it will be a big relief to everyone around the country,” Hipkins said of the rescue completion.
A further 100 police staff were on their way into those regions worst impacted.
Many local police have lost their own homes, Hipkins said. As of this afternoon, 3544 reports of uncontactable and 450 have been found.
“I want to acknowledge how difficult it is,” Hipkins said, adding people had told him they felt isolated.
Urban search and rescue teams were now going door-to-door to look for people, Hipkins said, particularly in the heavily damaged Eskdale area just north of Napier.
NEMA has accepted support from Austalia, Hipkins said, and five impact assessment teams of 25 people would arrive to assist.
Assistant Chief of Defence Darryn Webb said the priority for the NZDF remained saving people and helping get supplies where they were needed.
HMNZS Manawanui would be off Gisborne by the morning to provide disaster relief assistance. The response to the disaster is already one of the largest domestic military deployments in recent memory.
Hipkins said it was sad to see opportunistic criminal offending and police were going to crack down on this hard.
“Now is not the time for anybody to think they can chance their luck. The police will be out there and active.”
Hipkins said with more rain, including thunderstorms forecast for this evening, people should have a plan to evacuate if they felt in danger.
In some places, authorities were going door-to-door to warn them of the possibility they might have to evacuate. With connectivity remaining a major problem, any evacuation orders could come via this method during the night.
On devastation in Gisborne, Hipkins said it was a “pretty moving morning”.
Hipkins said after his visit to devastated communities in Gisborne that cyclone had clearly been a significant and “hugely traumatic” event in Gisborne and says it is “no question” that big infrastructure changes are needed across the country.
There was also a lot of stress but this had also brought out “the best in New Zealanders” through the response, he said.
Hipkins travelled to Gisborne with East Coast MP Kiri Allan and Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty to survey the damage and meet those affected in one of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Gabrielle.
One person has been found dead in Gisborne after the storm.
The politicians travelled to Te Karaka, a small town that was evacuated to higher ground as the Waipāoa River breached in multiple places, destroying properties in its path.
The residents were stuck on top of a hill for 27 hours, not knowing whether help was on the way.
There were ongoing power and communication outages in the area, along with a drinking water crisis after the main supply line was damaged.
Hipkins said the inability for people to get in touch with family and friends was a real issue and the Government was working on immediately increasing connectivity, including installing hotspots.
Water was another major issue for the Gisborne area, and there were convoys of trucks delivering emergency supplies.
Hipkins said broadband internet would take “some time”. The focus now was getting satellite internet constellation Starlink online, which would enable some texting and calls.
On the bigger infrastructure issues, Hipkins said more needed to be done on resilience. It would be expensive and require some big calls, he said.
“There is no question, we cannot continue the way we have been going. We are going to see more of these weather events.”
On the request to Australia for assistance, Hipkins said New Zealand was accepting international offers of assistance. He would reveal more details at a press conference in Wellington later today.
Hipkins acknowledged it was a “lonely and isolating” time for those cut off by the cyclone’s aftermath.
Restoring infrastructure was a “very big challenge” and he acknowledged that the strain and stress could go on for some time.
It was “almost certainly” time to rethink parts of the road network, he said.
“We have to get real about some of the roads and the fact we are going to have to move some of the roads to where they are more resilient.”
An inquiry into forestry slash and wider land use issues would have to go to Cabinet, but Hipkins said the Government was committed to properly addressing it.
East Coast MP Kiri Allan said the “Coasties” who were in areas they could still not get to were at the “forefront of our minds”.
Asked about funding and addressing water infrastructure issues and how it related to Three Waters, Hipkins said he did not want to get into the politics.
But he said local government in situations such as these could not be expected to carry the costs, and central government would always play a role.
Hipkins said all of the country’s infrastructure would be closely looked at to ensure it was resilient.
His heart went out to families doing it tough.
“I can only imagine how I would feel in those circumstances with my own family. It has been an extraordinary weather event and we will absolutely be focused on doing everything we can to support them.”
The main thing that stood out to him in the response so far was how much New Zealanders were doing to support each other through some of the “biggest challenges some of them will have ever faced in their lives”.
Hipkins will host a media stand-up from the Beehive at about 5.30pm today with the latest on the Cyclone Gabrielle response and recovery.
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