Cyclone Gabrielle: What life is like in a disaster zone
Saturday, 18 February 2023
For all the hives of activity and working bees taking place in small communities deluged by mud in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti on Saturday, there remains an echo of silence for those desperately trying to get hold of loved ones.
Inability to communicate with officials, whānau and friends remained the top worry for those emptying their damaged homes of muddied belongings this weekend, and for those organising the response.
Five days after Cyclone Gabrielle brought floodwaters into the homes of many across the regions, communication was erratic or non-existent and information was hard to verify.
On Saturday police said thousands of people were still uncontactable, and National Emergency Management and police were urging those who could, to register themselves safe on the police website - on Saturday afternoon less than 1000 people had.
**READ MORE:
* Family of much-loved farmer John Coates, who died in Cyclone Gabrielle, thank community
* Cyclone Gabrielle: What you need to know in your region
**
Officials were trying to cross-reference names to give whānau reassurance.
Lack of communication was also hindering movements. While there were reports that State Highway 2 to Wairoa and Opotiki had reopened, signs on the highway said the opposite, and road cones remained, blocking access - people simply drove around them when they had word the highways were passable.
People sought information from the source - grouping at council and police buildings where notices were being posted, albeit some out of date.
Spark and Vodafone were working on it - some cellphone reception was restored by Spark in Gisborne on Friday and Saturday, meaning for the first time people were able to exchange a reassuring text or phone call.
And for others, Starlinks - large satellite wifi devices that retail for about $500 - are a precious commodity.
In Gisborne and Wairoa, crowds thronged outside council and Civil Defence headquarters, making use of the public wifi which was mostly patchy and slow.
On Saturday afternoon seven Starlinks were seen being carried off an Air New Zealand plane at Gisborne Airport. A Noel Leeming store in the city pre-empted the question with a whiteboard message: 'Cash & Farmlands only!!! Starlink out of stock!'
Other stores placed a limit on what people could buy, particularly for essentials like bread and milk. Businesses placed signs notifying they were out of bottled water, or toilets weren't useable.
This is life in a disaster town.
In Gisborne, residents who had been told not to use any water were then told they could use the bare minimum for hygiene and cooking. Where once social media would have spread the word quickly, instead large digital signs were placed on the city's fringes, notifying people of the water crises.
Petrol was being rationed, with $40 of fuel the maximum in many stores, with some petrol stations completely taped off or notices saying they would only sell to emergency personnel.
Many businesses were shut, including eateries, and those that were open could mostly only take cash.
But those in more remote quarters were among the most resilient.
In Wairoa, the remote town about 90km south of Gisborne that had virtually been cut off from everywhere else thanks to slips, locals there - even the ones whose homes had been severely damaged, repeated that others had it worse than them. Many of the enquiries about the welfare of those uncontactable were for those in Wairoa.
Likewise, crowds gathered at the council headquarters, seeking word from relatives in Hawke's Bay and further afield. One man was desperate for word from his wife, who was in Hastings Hospital.
Local businessman John Malis had opened his food store and bakery, accepting cash only, but business was slow.
In Te Karaka, about 25 kilometres north of Gisborne off State Highway 2, those in the northern valleys said they were well stocked on food and water - simply living off the land and livestock.
Outside the school yesterday a ute with slain pigs was parked up, and baking and fresh food was being delivered to the welfare centre. The community was expecting a visit from the Ministry of Social Development, Kāinga Ora and Whatu Ora.
It's understood helicopters were bringing in supplies for the community which, like Gisborne, was rationing its petrol and had no telecommunications - with no evidence of Starlinks.
Unlike Gisborne, residents had plenty of water, with many having tanks on their properties.
Instead, the main focus in Te Karaka was on the cleanup. Civil Defence controller Frank Ngatoro said skip bins were being organised for the mountains of furniture and belongings that were piled high on the streets, and all around the community the mammoth effort was evident, with trucks, utes and machinery a common sight.
The town - which has about 500 in its immediate vicinity - had all evacuated at dawn on Tuesday. Those asleep were wakened by beeping and knocking as alarm spread. Initially officials had a registration system at the local school, but when time ran out they ushered them all to the top of a nearby hill as water rushed into the community.
Roberta McKenzie, 65, and her partner Robert Winiata, 68, had rebuilt their home after Cyclone Bola - about a metre higher on recommendation from the council and their insurer. They felt so safe there, they nearly didn't evacuate.
When they returned to their home on Tuesday after evacuating, McKenzie thought, '…Round two. I knew straight away we had lost everything.' Their vehicles were under water.
Under a blazing sun on Saturday a dozen people were emptying their home while the couple refuged at the nearby school, but the pair also worried about preserving what they could as evidence for insurers, when they were able to reach them. Despite the pain and frustration of losing their home a second time, they planned to rebuild in the same spot - because, why wouldn't they, in this tightknit community?
'Everybody sticks together and looks after one another. It's a lovely area,' said McKenzie.
About 60 residents were bunking at the local school, having been forced from their homes. All along Paulson Rd - where the couple lived and possibly the hardest hit in Te Karaka - utes and machinery blocked the muddy road, as contents of homes were discarded. Some didn't know whose homes they were emptying - they were simply helping.
That was a common story.
Keelan and Ngawai Poi live further up the valley in Te Karaka and although they were physically cut off from the town after the storm - having to physically clear the road to their home themselves in order to leave after Gabrielle struck - their first thoughts on returning to Te Karaka's centre was what they could do for others.
They brought food to the Civil Defence headquarters, knowing they had plenty at home. It had been barbecue meals for several nights in their household, and they thought they had enough kai for another two weeks.
'We grow our own. Everything is ready for harvest at the moment and so we brought what we could down,' said Keelan, a Department of Conservation worker. They had exchanged food with their neighbours, 'And in return they gave us a horse.'
Further up the road, closer to Whatatutu, brothers Chris and Guy Coates also made a point of highlighting their gratitude to the community after the death of their father John, 64, in the floodwaters on Tuesday. While Stuff visits, members of the Te Karaka community have also stopped by to express their condolences, and Chris Coates said they had returned to their accommodation at the end of the day to find meals had been dropped off.
Their homes had been a flurry of activity, strangers wielding waterblasters and machinery, Chris Coates said. Their father, a farmer, had loved this community and this land.
'He wouldn't have left,' Guy Coates said.