Some Hawke’s Bay residents say authorities have left them to their own devices and have been fixing septic tanks, guarding checkpoints, and restoring power.
Those living near Whirinaki on Pohutukawa Dr and North Shore Rd say they are closer than ever in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.
But they are also on edge and “ready to boil over”, with gang members taking advantage of the devastation.
Houses on Pohutukawa Dr were flooded with at least 1.2 metres of water last week.
The street is now lined with the entire contents of people’s homes, such as fridges, couches, beds, and stripped-out plasterboard. Everything is sodden, muddy, and wrecked.
Todd Smith had just moved into his brand-new home in November.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, he heard a gurgling sound and opened a ranch slider to find brown water lapping at the door.
Within five minutes, water was coming into the house.
By the time he and his partner got around to the other side of their home to get out, the water was almost waist-deep.
They went to Smith’s parents’ house on North Shore Drive, which runs parallel to Pōhutukawa Drive, and a lot of it is on higher ground.
They then went about getting neighbours to safety, including one family who was in their garage on a picnic table, another group who were sitting in a boat, and others who were on a roof.
By the end of the effort, there were about 30 people and 10 dogs sheltering in Smith’s parents’ house.
Residents who had previously called 111 were told to stay in their homes, and the notification to evacuate came far too late, Smith said.
Today, those cleaning up in the community said some people were only alive because of Smith’s efforts.
Smith, who is a plumber, was immediately concerned about people’s septic tanks overflowing and causing a serious sanitation problem.
With the help of others and some sparkies, the whole street’s septic tanks are now working, with a generator hooked up to each of them for about an hour a day.
Meanwhile, people helped to clear out Smith’s house, including many he had never met.
Smith drew a line along the walls with a marker to show where the water had got to and where the gib and pink batts needed to be stripped out.
One man showed up with a digger he had hired and paid for himself and started clearing accessways and filling in a giant sinkhole that had opened up, Smith said.
“If it wasn’t for people like him and others in the community who have just come out of their own accord ... we would be feeling pretty s*** about ourselves because we’ve had no help from authorities.
“It’s a tighter community than ever now. It’s just unreal.”
Smith said they were in need of 1000-litre water carts to pump into people’s houses which would “be like Christmas”.
The tight-knit community is also on edge.
There have been reports of gang members scoping out the area, people stealing fuel and generators and stockpiling their cars with food meant for residents whose houses have been devastated.
“The tensions are that high, that people are ready to boil over, let loose and let some anger out,” Smith said.
They are working with police to get better security, Smith said, and police patrols had started in the area this morning.
Ideally, Smith would like the Defence Force there.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has rejected claims of increased looting and disorder in Hawkes’ Bay and Tairāwhiti, and said “police are not seeing any evidence to suggest there’s a level of lawlessness”.
Steve Brock, who lives in Bay View village, was among half a dozen people stationed at a checkpoint set up by locals this morning.
They have volunteered their time to give those living on North Shore Rd and Pōhutukawa Dr a break from guarding the checkpoint themselves.
“[Residents] are incredibly thankful for the people coming out and just manning it,” Brock said.
They are rostered on for four-hour shifts around the clock, giving exhausted residents a chance to catch some sleep.
“We can’t do too much in terms of authority, but they can at least have peace of mind that there’s someone checking in, and if we feel like they’re up to no good, we can report it and go from there.”
While those at the checkpoint keep watch, the clean-up continues.
Nikayla and Matt Glenn made the decision last night to try to save the bones of their home.
They put the call out on Facebook, and today friends, friends of friends and people they had never met before have started to clear the mud, remove their belongings and rip up the carpet.
The sense of community spirit is remarkable in the face of destruction.
More details have been released about the cause of the mass power outage.