Napier flood three years on: Slips still haunt hill residents, with some only just fixed

A landslip on Sue Fargher's Bluff Hill property has been fixed three years later, but memories of the 2020 floods still remain. Photo / Warren Buckland

November 9 marked three years since Napier was devastated by landslips and flooding after heavy rain wreaked havoc on the city. For resident Sue Fargher, it was a reminder of the devastating power and long-standing effects of extreme weather. Mitchell Hageman reports.

As Cyclone Gabrielle tore across Hawke’s Bay, memories of the 2020 Napier landslips weren’t far away for Bluff Hill resident Sue Fargher.

The gaping hole in the hillside of her rental home still remained - it brought back waves of anxiety whenever the prospect of heavy rain came up.

“When Gabrielle happened, we still hadn’t had it fixed,” she said.

“We went and parked up in the school camp in their carpark in our campervan because we were terrified. We also had power in the campervan so that was a plus.”

Fargher and her sister slept in their clothes and had their bags ready to go after witnessing the 2020 slip, realising the house was probably only six feet away from tumbling down the hillside.

The slip took out four levels of retaining walls and covered the road in debris.

Reality hit once again during Gabrielle when it was discovered another slip occurred just metres away.

“The neighbour’s hill also went down. It was really nerve-racking, and it happened so quickly,” she said.

“Nobody heard it, we were all just standing out front talking about the wind overnight, and then someone came and said that that whole hillside was gone.”

An aerial view of flooding in Napier in 2020 after heavy rains deluged the region.

Now, three years later, her landlords have managed to get the area near the slip fixed and create some sense of security.

“They started about four weeks ago, so it’s only been finished a week or so,” Fargher said.

But that still doesn’t take away the rain anxiety, that many in the region continue to grapple with on a daily basis.

“Several times in the years after, we had our bags packed and sitting by the front door, waiting to go if we had to if the forecast was for heavy rain that night. We were very nervous.”

She said she felt for those who were much worse off than them and understood how real the rain anxiety could be.

“There were a lot more people worse off than us but it was still very nerve-racking.”

And like many others still struggling from the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, Fargher said she was making every effort to move forward.

“You just have to get on with it really.”

A slip caused by Cyclone Gabrielle on Convent Rd. Photo / Warren Buckland

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.