Cyclone Debbie brought widespread flooding to Hawke's Bay, with the Ngaruroro River (pictured) among the many which broke their banks. Photo / File
Cyclone Debbie brought widespread flooding to Hawke's Bay, with the Ngaruroro River (pictured) among the many which broke their banks. Photo / File
On the anniversary of a cyclone which ravaged parts of the country and saturated Hawke's Bay, residents are being urged to remember the lessons learned from it.
On April 4 last year Cyclone Debbie first hit Hawke's Bay, with heavy rainfall from Wairoa to Waipukurau flooding parts of the region and slips closing multiple roads.
Despite being better off when compared with northern parts of the country, a severe weather warning was put in place for three days with up to 100mm of rain falling across the region.
Puddles appeared across Farndon Park, Clive. Photo / Duncan Brown
As well as widespread flooding and slips, among the worst effects for Hawke's Bay were the closure of a Napier kindergarten, Blackhead Camping Ground on Central Hawke's Bay's coast being cut off, and Napier City Council discharging wastewater into the Ahuriri Estuary.
The effects of the cyclone were quickly fixed, but its lessons are still being felt.
Hawke's Bay Civil Defence emergency management group manager Ian Macdonald said the cyclone helped the organisation hasten its response times, with strong weather events expected to become more common.
As Cyclone Debbie did not have a major effect on the region, the Civil Defence efforts had gone toward helping worse-affected areas - particularly Bay of Plenty township Edgecumbe, which was completely evacuated after being flooded on April 6.
However less than a week later Hawke's Bay was caught off guard when another cyclone - which was expected to miss the region - instead tore through it.
Hedgeley Rd in Eskdale was one of the roads around Hawke's Bay closed by slips. Photo / Paul Taylor
On April 13 Cyclone Cook buffeted the region with winds which felled hundreds of trees and left 15,000 without power at the height of the storm.
"We had to drag people back [from Edgecumbe]," Mr Macdonald said. "One of the key lessons for us was that after any event we need to reorient ourselves very quickly, so we are prepared for the next one."
Looking back a year on the quick succession of the two cyclones had been good training, he said.
This was put into practice last month when Civil Defence had to juggle its response to flooding in parts of rural Napier - which closed roads and damaged about 80 homes - with preparing for Cyclone Gita, due to arrive days later.
"We had to close off that response and reorientate ourselves for the next event that was coming. Luckily, though, Gita didn't really impact on us at all."
Flood water rose in Omakere, Central Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland
Doing so was challenging, but it was something Civil Defence had to improve on in light of the effects of climate change.
"The fact we're getting ex-tropical cyclones in April ... generally it's February, March, but it seems like that's becoming more and more of an issue for us.
"We're seeing a lot more variability in our climate and these things are happening quite regularly now. This means we have to be more flexible, to move from one thing to the next."
While Cyclone Cook had more impact on Hawke's Bay, Cyclone Debbie had been the worst for the country - 68 education centres were closed around New Zealand due to flooding, flights were cancelled and residents evacuated from ravaged centres across the North Island - from Whangarei to parts of Wellington.
Before reaching New Zealand as a category four cyclone, Debbie had days earlier claimed lives and damaged houses beyond repair as it flooded southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales in Australia.
