Comment: Cyclone Gabrielle one year on

Flooding on Weber Rd, between Waitahora Rd and east of Lys Rd, on February 14, 2023.

By Leanne Warr

It’s almost a year since Cyclone Gabrielle hit the east coast of the North Island.

I remember keeping an eye on breaking news as the reports came in and it was a very chaotic time for a lot of people.

Here in Dannevirke, we had a bit of surface flooding, but much of town escaped the cyclone and its after-effects.

Not so much our coastal areas.

I went out with our mayor on February 14, 2023, and we took a look at Weber Rd. From about Waitahora Rd, for several kilometres, it was flooded. I barely remember the floods after Cyclone Bola in 1988 so this was more or less a new experience for me (yes, I know how lucky I am). This was an incredible sight. Incredible and heart-wrenching at the same time.

It was not hard to see the stress and worry in the faces of our mayor and councillors even as they tried to assure those watching social media they were doing all they could.

Tararua District mayor Tracey Collis would give regular updates through the week following Cyclone Gabrielle, sometimes from locations hit hard by flooding, such as Weber Rd.

As stories started coming in of the devastation, I heard about our coastal communities being cut off. I know if I had lived in those areas I would never have been able to cope with being suddenly isolated from friends and family.

Some of my colleagues in Hawke’s Bay weren’t able to go home due to the flooding there.

I got off lucky.

But I feel for those who lost homes or lost a good part of their livelihood. There are many farms in our district that are still picking up the pieces and they may continue doing so for the next few years.

Those who have never experienced it find it difficult to imagine just how big an impact this has had on all of us. I may only be writing about it, but I have heard enough to know just how tough the past year has been.

The impact of an event such as this cannot be underestimated. We may, as a community, feel the effects for a long time to come.

It’s something I hope I don’t have to experience again in my lifetime, but I know it’s a false hope. The best we can strive for is that next time we’ll be more prepared, or that the lessons learned from Cyclone Gabrielle will be passed down.

Leanne Warr is editor of the Bush Telegraph and has been a journalist on and off since 1996 when she joined the Levin Chronicle. She re-joined NZME in June 2021.