Cyclone Gabrielle: Tearful sisters reunite as isolated Hawke’s Bay villages still without help

Two sisters are reunited after Cyclone Gabrielle smashed through a bridge in rural Hawke’s Bay, dividing the community.

The emotional scene was captured by the Herald in what are among the first pictures of the collapsed Dartmoor Bridge northwest of Napier.

It was all made possible thanks to a nearby forestry gang who immediately went to work fixing the road after the cyclone hit, so people could have a chance at returning to their families.

However, the scenes of joy and relief are marred by accounts from locals that the New Zealand Defence Force was unaware the bridge had been washed away and empty promises from Civil Defence forced residents to pay for private helicopters to drop off supplies.

Rachelle Phillips had left her Dartmoor Rd property when the power went out on Monday before the full force of Cyclone Gabrielle hit the region on Tuesday.

Little did she know that her sister Ange and the wider community would become marooned when the bridge was completely destroyed after the Mangone River and Tutaekuri River swelled to extraordinary levels.

The road leading up to the bridge had also been gutted, sealed areas obliterated, providing no opportunity to cross.

Once a sealed road, a forestry crew attempts to clear the masses of silt and sludge along Dartmoor Rd near Mangaone River after Hawke's Bay was smashed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Mike Scott

The Herald joined Rachelle and her family on the journey to the eastern side of the bridge.

Patience was required as forestry workers continued grinding away the mud and sludge, forging enough space for four-wheel-drive vehicles to pass.

The huge chunks Gabrielle stole from the road had been filled with silt and were packed down to form a makeshift road.

Rachelle had barely heard from her sister Ange in the past five days - the community’s generator was used sparingly to preserve fuel, meaning updates were few and far between.

On the western side of the bridge, 12 families were left to their own devices as slips prevented anyone from travelling west.

The Dartmoor Bridge over Mangaone River was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Mike Scott

Brimming with anticipation, Rachelle finally made it through to the water’s edge, yelling out and waving at the roughly 15 people across the water who were frantically waving back.

“We love you!” Rachelle screams across the river.

Without a bridge, kayaks provided the crucial link. Within minutes, Ange had made it to the eastern side and grasped her sister in a long-overdue hug.

Rachelle Phillips, right, was separated from her sister Ange, left, and other community members where she lives up Dartmoor Road when the bridge over the Mangaone River washed away and slips blocked the road. Photo / Mike Scott

“Hello, how are you?” Ange casually says to her sister.

“I love you!” Rachelle exclaims.

Fuel and other essential supplies - including some chocolate - that Rachelle’s family brought were ferried back over the river.

Rachelle herself jumped in a kayak and traversed the muddy water to reunite with the rest of the community.

Rachelle Phillips, right, reunites with her sister Ange. Photo / Mike Scott

Ange told the Herald people had remained upbeat, but the stress of what they’d endured would soon become apparent.

“We’ve actually had really high spirits. I think it’ll be in the next six months when things really settle in.”

Wider knowledge about the community’s predicament, particularly among emergency responders, appeared to be limited.

Locals said Defence Force personnel recently arrived at the bridge, reportedly unaware it had been washed away.

Calls to Civil Defence for help had also produced little.

“Every day they’ve said to us, ‘yes the chopper’s coming today with the [baby] formula, the chopper’s coming’, and we’ve probably had that three days in a row,” Ange said.

“Then last night, they admitted to our contact back in Auckland that no, they won’t be coming out and then they couldn’t find the medication we were waiting for.”

Two girls wave from the western side of what used to be the Dartmoor Bridge. Photo / Mike Scott

Locals were forced to go private, paying for a helicopter to drop supplies off which were then divvied up between the 12 families.

Residents also attempted to supply IRD numbers and bank account information to access financial support but that went nowhere.

“There are people up this valley who are definitely stressed and there’s supposedly financial grants.”

Nevertheless, Ange wasn’t one to complain and said there were many people and communities who were in more dire circumstances.

Her focus was on the immediate future, one complicated by a blown bore which left her home and two others cut off from their water supply.

“Long term, I don’t know what we’re going to do, especially if there’s no bridge because it’s 70 kilometres to Rissington and that road’s impassable at the moment.”

After a short time, Rachelle paddles back to the eastern side.

A kayak became the crucial link for members of the Dartmoor community to reunite. Photo / Mike Scott

“We love you guys!” she shouts across the river as her community treks back up the hill.

Rachelle has faced her own challenges after the cyclone. Her coffee cart in Puketapu, opened just a few months ago, is a wreck.

However, the brief reunion she’s had with family and friends has gone a long way to easing the pain.

“To see Ange, I’m so grateful.”

• Please donate - how you can help the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle; NZ Herald teams up with Red Cross
• If you have been unable to contact a friend or family member - or if you have fled the storm and want others to know you are safe - you can post a message here on the NZ Herald’s community noticeboard.