“They’ve got me down for three months (from last week to move back in). I am hoping I can get in before then.”
Sylvia lives in Mackley St — a street that now resembles multiple building yards along the T-shaped cul-de-sac.
Home after home features yellow stickers on windows or front doors, signifying they are not able to be lived in. Mrs Bell is one of several residents still living on their property after being provided with the temporary use of a removable cabin by health, housing and social service provider Enabled Wairoa.
Mackley St still bears other tell-tale scars of Cyclone Gabrielle. Across from Sylvia’s house, a large pile of ruined household items and ripped-out flood-wrecked flooring and plasterboard continues to grow.
Remnants of the mud which soaked the area also remain. Inside her house, the work of tradies and family members in the months since Cyclone Gabrielle’s fury hit can be seen.
The house’s interior had to be stripped out after the flooding. Now the tireless work sees floors patched up and new plasterboard nailed over many of the walls.
Despite the damage to her beloved home, the pensioner said she had never wanted to walk away from the house. “I have been here for three-quarters of my life,” she said.
“I am looking at 50 years (in this house) . . . maybe not 50 years, but close. I have plenty of good memories here.”
The cabin she is staying in was sourced after the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment partnered with the Wairoa District Council and Enabled Wairoa in the aftermath of the cyclone. By June, it had provided at least 12 of the units and 15 motorhomes to flood-impacted homeowners.
“I would love to say thanks to Enabled,” Bell said.
A heater in the cabin had kept her as warm as possible during the recent “pretty cold” months of winter. It was more of a respite from winter than those sleeping in the tent had, with Sylvia saying it would have been “bitterly cold”.
“I wouldn’t want to go in there myself,” she said. “Just looking at it was cold for me.”
She said Wairoa was a close-knit community and people had been caring towards those who had suffered damage in the cyclone. She, and other locals impacted, had a lot to thank fellow residents for, who had helped them during the tough times.
After seven months, Sylvia says she also continues to be grateful not to have been in Wairoa when the floodwaters arrived, having earlier travelled to Hastings to be with her daughter.
Sylvia is one of about 130 homeowners not able to live in their homes in Wairoa due to the damage inflicted.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said it was hoped most would be able to move back into their renovated houses by Christmas.
The Wairoa District Council had been proactive in supporting households that were uninsured due to their budget constraints. That included funds being given to them to aid rebuilds via its mayoral relief fund.
“We’ve raised $2 million in our local fund and we’ve been distributing that per household,” Mayor Little said.
“We’ve had a lot of good news (with donations and help) but people are still out of their homes. That’s not what we probably really wanted.” He said the provision of removable units and motorhomes had been a blessing for those forced out of their homes.
But he stressed they had to be a temporary measure and the priority was ensuring homes were fixed as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Craig Little has called for the section of SH2 covering his region — and even beyond into other areas of Hawke’s Bay — to be designated a Road of National Significance by the next government. Such a move would increase funding and speed up the rate of repairs, he believes.
Cyclone Gabrielle damage will require an estimated $200 million repair job to the roading network in the Wairoa District; with much of that to fix slips, washouts and also damage to bridges on SH2.
Ongoing repairs have caused traffic on SH2 to be reduced to one lane between Napier and Wairoa, with the flow of motorists controlled by traffic lights. It means the previous 90-minute journey can take up to two-and-a-half hours. Mr Little said it was leading to a loss in business productivity.
He said protecting the integrity of SH2 needed to be a priority given how important the road was for a variety of industries including forestry, agriculture, product deliveries and the Rocket Lab base at Māhia.
“The key would be . . . whoever gets into government makes that a road of significance. Then we can get some real dollars to get that road up and running,” Mr Little said. “I know this cyclone has been out of the box. “But, that road you just travelled on, that’s probably going to hold our community back.
“Sometimes it can take two and a half hours (to get to Napier). It will be costing a lot in lost production.”
