The destruction and loss of life caused by Cyclone Gabrielle is devastating. Redclyffe Bridge is just one of many that collapsed, It will be a long road to recovery but we will get there. Photo / Warren Buckland
The destruction and loss of life caused by Cyclone Gabrielle is devastating. Redclyffe Bridge is just one of many that collapsed, It will be a long road to recovery but we will get there. Photo / Warren Buckland
It’s not often I am lost for words but the images coming out of the Esk Valley, Pakowhai and other flood-ravaged areas last week left me speechless.
Images of areas I have seen thousands of times over the years, now foreign landscapes. It was hard to get my bearings because all you could see was water, silt, mud, slash and ruined homes, cars, orchards, vineyards and businesses.
It’s heartbreaking. Lives have been lost and people are still missing.
I’m sure, like me, you have asked yourself ‘how are we ever going to fix this? Where do we start?’
Well, it started almost straight away with Civil Defence and emergency agencies powering into action.
The stories of survival made me realise how close many people came to not being here to tell their tales. People literally ran and swam for their lives.
The terror is unimaginable.
In the days that followed, as always happens in a disaster, the best and the worst came out in people.
The best is the winner by a country mile as people in the community have rallied to help neighbours, friends, family and total strangers.
Shovels have been picked up, gumboots put on, machinery offered, food has poured out of commercial and home kitchens all around the community, donations from money to clothes have been given, hugs and tears have been shared.
The outpouring of support is what makes Hawke’s Bay such an amazing place to live.
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today. Photo / Warren Buckland.
The worst is a minority. People who have no empathy, no sense of community and really don’t give a toss about anything or anyone but themselves and what they can gain from other people’s pain.
They have caused precious police resources to be diverted away from helping people, to protecting them.
Speaking of police, I just can’t say enough about the amazing mahi from our police force, people running civil defence centres, evacuation centres, Unison (legends), the Army, and all our emergency services. Some people I know have worked around the clock looking after the people in their communities. They have dealt with the loss of lives, confronting scenes and devastated people.
Many people in the community have also had to deal with this, especially in Napier.
I haven’t been to Napier, I didn’t want to add to the road congestion, even though I really wanted to visit my family in Greenmeadows. Instead on the weekend, I helped out in Hastings and Waipawa.
I’ve cried, not for myself or my family, we are fine. My tears are for the people I know and those I don’t who have lost everything, and for the families and friends of people who have lost their lives.
It’s okay to feel emotional. Even if you haven’t been directly affected by Cyclone Gabrielle you probably know someone who has. It shows that you have empathy — the ability to understand and share the feelings of others — that’s a good thing.
Humans are creatures of habit. We like routine. For thousands of people that routine will never be the same again. However, we are also a resilient, strong and determined lot. People will carve new routines, it might take them months or years to do it and at times the task ahead will be overwhelming as it is now, but with the help of this amazing community, government support and the generosity of our fellow Kiwis, we can do it.
