Damaged cars were strewn across Esk Valley during the floods. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke’s Bay was the hardest-hit region in the country in terms of damage and deaths caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Ten days on from the devastating floods, here is what we know in numbers.
Eight dead
The confirmed death toll following Cyclone Gabrielle is eight in Hawke’s Bay, as at Friday afternoon.
One person has also died in Gisborne and two in Auckland as a result of the cyclone, taking the confirmed death toll to 11 across the country.
13 people uncontactable
As at 9pm Friday, the number of uncontactable people following Cyclone Gabrielle is now at 13.
Police said getting in touch with the remaining 13 remains a priority, with staff using a number of different methods.
80 red-stickered homes and buildings
Eighty homes and buildings have been red-stickered across Napier, Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay districts.
That means they are unsafe to enter and badly damaged with entry prohibited.
The bulk of those (78 buildings) are located in the Hastings District which includes flood-ravaged locations such as Esk Valley and Puketapu.
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said: “Our building inspection team has been bolstered by an additional 20-plus inspectors who have come to Hastings from around the country.”
840 yellowed-stickered homes and buildings
A total of 840 homes and buildings have been yellow-stickered across Napier, Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay districts meaning they have moderate damage and entry is restricted, such as part of the building being deemed unsafe to enter.
The bulk of those (643 buildings) are located in the Hastings District.
Figures for Wairoa were unavailable.
Thousands of cars written off
The owner of a tow truck business in Hawke’s Bay says the number of vehicles destroyed by the floods in the region is in the thousands, not hundreds.
Trade Towage general manager Steve Karatau said they had been flat out collecting damaged vehicles this week, and the number of destroyed cars would easily be in the thousands.
“We have a mountain of jobs that have been given to us by the insurance companies but at this stage a lot are inaccessible.”
Councils say there is no official figure for the number of written-off vehicles at this stage.
2789 without power
On Friday Unison said its progress in restoring power to rural communities in Hawke’s Bay was being impacted by continuing wet weather in the region.
While the weather is holding up rural restoration efforts, crews will continue with repairs in urban and rural areas that are accessible and where conditions are safe, and resume efforts to areas still isolated as soon as is safe.
There are still 2789 customers without power in Hawke’s Bay, mostly in outlying rural areas. There are small pockets still without power in urban areas due to isolated flood damaged assets or faults, and Unison is repairing these street by street.
Up to 35 arrests per day
Police have reported, within the Eastern District (Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay), there have been between five and 35 people arrested daily from Monday this week.
Those arrests have been for a variety of offences including burglaries.
More police have been deployed into the region following the floods, as well as more resources made available such as the Eagle police helicopter.
Dozens of bridges destroyed or damaged
A staggering number of bridges have been destroyed or badly damaged on Hawke’s Bay roads.
The Hastings District Council alone has reported eight of its bridges destroyed and a further 18 bridges damaged on local roads.
Meanwhile, on the vital SH5 road, between Napier and Taupo, Marshall’s Bridge has had its supports washed out near Glengarry.
On SH2, between Napier and Wairoa, the Waikare River Bridge near Putorino has been completely washed away.
Waka Kotahi said on Friday “great progress is being made on State Highway 5″ to get it reopened but it still remains unclear when both of those highways will reopen.
$300 million support package
The Government has announced a $250 million support package for roads and $50 million support package for businesses (including $25 million for farmers and growers) impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
A large portion is expected to go to Hawke’s Bay.
There have been four artists-in-residence at Rinitawa.