An aerial view shows extensive flooding in the Hawke's Bay region. Video / Photography by Corena
About 1000 people have been displaced in Hawke’s Bay, while dozens have been rescued from raging floodwaters and Napier’s mayor fears some are still trapped.
Dramatic aerial photos revealed the utter devastation to the region and damage to major infrastructure caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, particularly along the Tutaekuri River between Napier and Hastings.
Video showed the Brookfield Bridge, which crosses the river, being completely destroyed.
The northern Hawke’s Bay town of Wairoa, with more than 8000 people, has also gone dark with little to no communication with authorities in the area.
The failure of cellphone towers throughout the region has also severely limited the flow of information, Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence authorities said.
Local Civil Defence has also requested support from the National Emergency Management Agency, with the scale of damage to infrastructure beyond the capacity of the region to manage.
Aerial views of major flooding in Hawke's Bay as Cyclone Gabrielle hit the region. Photo / Photography by Corena
Mass evacuations were carried out earlier today in the heavily populated suburb of Taradale as the Tutaekuri River could no longer be contained by its banks. Orchard workers in the area were also stranded on roofs above several feet of water for a number of hours.
Several rescue and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) helicopters continue to buzz overhead this evening, while others have been rescued by inflatable rescue boats.
NZ Army regular and reserve forces have been involved in rescues and responding to emergencies in Esk Valley, Napier and wider Hawke’s Bay. Four more army trucks have left for Napier today to assist with the evacuations of residents.
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Controller Iain Maxwell said the impact of this cyclone was yet to be fully understood and it is going to take some for all of the impacts to be remedied.
”Our focus continues to be on people and safety, and making sure those who have lost their homes have somewhere warm to be, food and water.
“The rest of us need to be resilient; looking after ourselves, our families and our neighbours. We do need people to understand that there will be a long recovery time - we’re talking weeks and months - following what is an unprecedented natural disaster.”
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said about 1000 people have been displaced in Hawke’s Bay.
“The link between Napier and Hastings was compromised for a long time and still is to some extent,” he said.
Waka Kotahi has closed the bridges on SH2 due to safety concerns. Combined with roads being blocked due to flooding and trees, Napier and Hastings are now isolated from each other.
Several bridges remain impassable, including Fernhill Bridge (Ōmahu), Vicarage Road (Puketapu), Waiohiki (Taradale) and Brookfields Bridge (Meeanee) and the Esk Bridge north of the SH2 intersection with SH5.
The Ngaruroro River also overtopped its banks, resulting in the evacuation of Ōmahu.
An RNZAF reconnaissance flight was also to be sent to the northern Hawke’s Bay town of Wairoa, which has been cut off with little to no communication from the area since power, internet, and phone services went down.
Civil Defence authorities know the Wairoa River burst its banks, inundating 10-15 per cent of the town which is home to about half of the town’s 8000 population.
The Mohaka Bridge on SH2 has been damaged, cutting off Wairoa from the south. There is also limited supplies of food and water with no drinking water supply due to the flooding.
“Wairoa, particularly, is of concern,” McAnulty said about communication with the town. He added authorities in Wairoa have a satellite phone but without power, it had likely run out of battery.
McAnulty said when the weather allows, the military may be used to establish communication and reconnect communities like Wairoa.
“The communication is out, we understand the power is out, we are aware of some flooding but we’re not aware of to what extent,” McAnulty said of Wairoa.
“Until the weather clears, either to establish communications or get people on the ground we don’t have a full understanding of the impact there. And that makes us feel anxious and that makes us feel concerned.”
Residents being evacuated in Taradale. Photo / Paul Taylor
Residents evacuated in Hawke's Bay as Cyclone Gabrielle caused flooding in the region. Photo / Paul Taylor
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise also told Newstalk ZB she understood some people are still trapped in the Puketapu area, west of Napier.
Wise said emergency services and the NZ Defence Force are working to continue to rescue and evacuate people.
Eskdale Valley has been particularly hard hit by the cyclone, with extensive damage. One person remains trapped in their home in Putorino following a slip, Civil Defence said.
When asked about the drinking water situation, she said it’s “quite dire”.
Wise called on the community to do their part and conserve water.
The Hastings and Napier drinking water supplies remain operational but Civil Defence authorities are asking the community to restrict their use to reduce the impact on the wastewater network.
Medical staff care for patients at the Tamatea Intermediate School evacuation centre in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor
Major infrastructure, including power, internet and phone services, remain down across many parts of the region.
Wise said some phone connections appeared to be working intermittently but asked people to tune into the radio for updates.
In Central Hawke’s Bay, authorities said, the Waipawa and Tukituki Rivers have topped their banks, and there is a high probability of the stop bank failing with continued rainfall.
The town water supply has failed due to flooding and the community are relying on their emergency supplies, Civil Defence said in an update this evening.
A number of residents along Links Rd at Waiohiki near Napier were rescued today in the flooding. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hawke’s Bay residents have been warned by Transpower they may be without electricity for days or even weeks.
Transpower earlier declared a “grid emergency” after Cyclone Gabrielle cut power to Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
“The outage is a result of flooding to the Redclyffe substation following extreme weather from Cyclone Gabrielle,” the company said. “The Unison and Eastland networks that distribute electricity to the region are currently down.”
The damage to infrastructure meant Transpower had lost communication with the Redclyffe substation.
“It is likely it is underwater. We cannot access the site but have a helicopter on standby for further investigation when possible,” Transpower said.
“Apologies to all who are affected. Unfortunately, until we are able to gain access to the substation, we will not have a clear picture of how long the region will be without power. However, we are advising that the community should be prepared to be without power for days to weeks, rather than hours.”
Nearly 225,000 people across the North Island are without power and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said electricity companies “haven’t seen this damage since Cyclone Bola” in 1988.
