A car was written off in Whitianga following the storm. Photo / RNZ, Marika Khabazi
By Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira, Charlotte Cook, Robin Martin, and Calvin Samuel of RNZ
The North Island has taken yet another hammering, with Cyclone Vaianu’s wrath lashing the north and east.
Hundreds of households were evacuated, while thousands more went without power as fallen trees took down lines.
It also caused storm surges and massive ocean swells.
Vaianu’s force was first felt in Northland.
Auriole Ruka hosted some of Whangārei’s rough sleepers at Te Renga Paraoa Marae. Nineteen people took shelter in the wharenui, while Ruka and her husband Ralph made breakfast.
“Porridge [with] brown sugar and cream, but we’re going to have scrambled eggs, because we’ve got a whole lot of eggs given to us, and some bacon as well too, so it’s a meal fit for kings and queens.”
Ruka said putting the shelter up was a collective effort.
“We’ve been doing this since Cyclone Gabrielle with our kaitiaki trustees across the region.
“The last time we had about 90 come through … you can never tell, but we believe [if] one person comes through, that’s enough for us to stand up the marae and support.”
Further inland, the small isolated village of Pipiwai organised its own relief effort. Pipiwai is next to the Hikurangi River, which overflowed and cut off access to vital roadways.
Local kaimahi Rai Rakich said the infrastructure was not up to scratch.
“We don’t have any wastewater systems in place. All of our kāinga houses here have just got their own septic systems in place.
“Our roading network’s been flooding for a long, long time now.
“Whenever we want to get tar seals done, or roads fixed, it’s a big whawhai – battle – almost.”
The Coromandel Peninsula town of Whitianga was cut off as roads flooded and slips came down.
Rob Aro – visiting from the United Kingdom – said the emergency alerts frightened his family, so they stocked up on food and sandbagged their rental property.
“[We’re] a bit nervous, obviously we’re trying to go back to Auckland in a few days’ time. The roads have been closed so we’re a bit worried about how we return our hire car and get on the plane but, you know, hopefully it’ll all work out.
“I heard the Army’s been involved and the Civil Defence are really organised, so hopefully that’s all that’s needed and they’ll be able to clear a way for us.”
There was further flooding in the Waikato town of Paeroa, where resident Helen Baker told RNZ the water had formed a moat around her house.
“I said to somebody, it’s like New Zealand’s getting a cyclone season. You wouldn’t have said that in the past, that we had a cyclone season. That’s what it’s become, I guess.
“It’s all part of the global warming environment we’re living in.
“I think people are resilient. We know the areas that will flood.”
Eric Maras, 81, was one of nine people evacuated to Rangitīhi Marae in Matatā.
“They come and get us to stay over there. That woman on a truck – her and her husband come down, and told us they’d been looking around for us. They saw us, but they told us to come to the marae and stay here.”
Further west in Ōhope, Garth Carrington was going nowhere.
“We weighed up our options and decided to stay. We had other places to go, but the way I see it is the cyclone was hitting the whole area – whether we’re here or over there, it’s still going to be windy and rainy, but it’s more comfortable at home for us.”
Carrington said the wind was strong, but he never feared for his or his family’s safety.
Later on Sunday, those who had been evacuated in the Bay of Plenty were able to return home – as long as it was safe for them to do so.
Two hundred and seventy households in Ōhope and Thornton were forced to evacuate, while an unknown number had chosen to.