Deadly cyclone that hit Muriwai 'felt like another dimension', residents say

Wednesday, 15 February 2023

Muriwai and Piha were hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle.

A Muriwai family who fled their home to escape Cyclone Gabrielle’s wrath say the storm “felt like another dimension”.

Their West Auckland beach community has seen some of Aotearoa’s worst damage from the cyclone.

Multiple houses have been destroyed in slips and a body has been found after a firefighter went missing in a landslide.

Tony Masterton and Johanna Montgomery, their two sons and dog Sharkey fled their Domain Crescent home in the dark early on Tuesday morning as the cyclone bore down.

* Cyclone Gabrielle: Family of five trapped after trees fall

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Tony Masterton and Johanna Montgomery had to flee their home with their two teenage sons and dog Sharkey as Cyclone Gabrielle slammed Auckland.

“We’re so used to storms coming from the west … [we thought] this does not feel like a good old west coast battering, it felt like another dimension,” Montgomery said.

The family is now staying in the Henderson evacuation centre at Trusts Arena, without a car or any belongings.

On Monday, Muriwai was relatively sheltered from the initial easterly winds of Gabrielle, but as the ex-tropical cyclone moved down Aotearoa, the wind began to come from the southwest, hitting Muriwai.

Montgomery said the change happened about 9.30pm, when the family went to bed.

“It was just so strong, it was so fierce, it was the sound of it as well.

“The movement of the trees [was] in a way you’ve never seen before.”

Tony Masterton and Johanna Montgomery with their dog Sharkey.

By 1.30am, they were fleeing to the Muriwai Surf Club where about 200 residents and pets from the isolated West Auckland community were hunkered down.

But by about 4am, water began to enter the surf club and they had to flee once more. They were evacuated by the army.

Their youngest son, 14, was in a moon boot after having broken a leg.

He had to go through a dune track on crutches, in the dark, battling sideways rain. At one point, he catapulted himself over a puddle using the crutches.

The family first went to a Waimauku hall before arriving at the Henderson evacuation centre about 9am on Tuesday.

The family had brought a bag of clothes with them, but it got soaked through.

Masterton said the evacuation centre had looked after the family and their dog well. They had slept on an air bed with several blankets and been given well-cooked meals.

“The people here have been amazing,” he said.

“It’s people willing to reach out, at no benefit to themselves.”

On Wednesday, a volunteer at the centre was set to drive Montgomery home to Muriwai to inspect her house.

Colonel Mel Childs said 30 Defence Force personnel and vehicles assisted in Muriwai on Monday night, providing emergency supplies and evacuation to the surf club.