Chris and Luciana Barber from Zeelandt Brewery, in what's left of their flood-damaged business in Esk Valley. Photo / Paul Taylor
Chris and Luciana Barber from Zeelandt Brewery, in what's left of their flood-damaged business in Esk Valley. Photo / Paul Taylor
Chris Barber and his family were huddled in the rafters of their home when the Civil Defence text alert to evacuate Esk Valley came.
He’d used a toy train set to bludgeon a hole in the ceiling and hoist his wife and two children to safety after floodwater engulfed the house.
Barber, like others in the valley, would now like to know why they were left to fend for themselves when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke’s Bay on the night of February 13.
But it appears answers are some way off yet.
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group has been asked a detailed list of questions by Hawke’s Bay Today about how the attempted evacuation of Esk Valley was co-ordinated.
Reports indicate some people self-evacuated, while others received a knock at the door as early as 7pm on February 13 telling them to get out. Then there are those such as the Barbers - who run the Zeelandt Brewery and Cone & Flower Garden Bar - that didn’t hear a peep until about 5.30am on February 14.
A recent meeting of Esk Valley residents became what Barber described as a “venting session” where people expressed anger at being left in harm’s way.
Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group appears bound by the possibility of multiple reviews or inquiries into the event.
“As with any major emergency event, we expect there will be reviews undertaken into the period leading up to the event and the initial stages of the response,” a Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group spokesperson said in response to questions about how they managed this situation.
“We would welcome any review or inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawke’s Bay. At this stage, we are unable to comment further in order to avoid compromising any pending inquiry.”
Which begs the question: Will there actually be an inquiry?
“There are always lessons to take from a response,” Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“We’ve got two to look into now [the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle], so we’ll look at the best way to go about that and confirm details pretty soon.”
Another with the power to launch some sort of review into the Civil Defence response is the Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group Joint Committee.
Established by local councils, it is headed by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby and includes the mayors of Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and CHB.
Ormsby said it was likely there would be a review of Civil Defence’s response, but the decision on what form it took had yet to be determined.
She said the committee would not want to launch a review that covers the same ground as a Government review.
Hawke’s Bay regional councillor Neil Kirton said he would strongly encourage the CDEM Group Joint Committee to “front-foot” a review of their own, to provide quick answers for a community that needs them.
Barber, meanwhile, hopes to be back in business eventually, but he and his family will never live and work in Esk Valley again.
“We don’t feel safe,” he said.
Chris Barber's Holden sits amid the silt between his Esk Valley and home and his brewing business. Photo / Paul Taylor
This isn’t the first time families in the valley have experienced flooding. As recently as 2018, water lapped at the door of the Zeelandt Brewery, without swamping it in the fashion that Cyclone Gabrielle did.
On that occasion, the Barbers were evacuated well in advance of any potential disaster.
“That really should have been the impetus to look at the procedures and what was in place, because it seems like things have gone backwards. Well, no one came and knocked on our door where they did five years ago,” Barber said.
