There was major flooding in Napier CBD on Monday. Photo / Paul Taylor
There was major flooding in Napier CBD on Monday. Photo / Paul Taylor
Why do people become nosy parkers when things go wrong?
I watched several videos and saw loads of photos of people trying desperately to keep water out of their homes and businesses on Monday night and yesterday morning while cars drove around the streets causing wakes of water to washtowards them.
I felt for these people and I bet it made them angry. Who wouldn't be in that situation?
Yesterday retailers were calling for streets to be shut ahead of more forecast rain.
The rain on Monday was relentless. It was bad enough in Hastings but Napier certainly copped the worst of it — flooding, landslides, evacuations, power cuts — they had it all.
As if everyone, especially businesses, hasn't had enough to deal with this year.
It was quite ironic that a few hours before people realised this rain wasn't going away anytime soon and the Napier infrastructure just wasn't going to cope with the deluge, the council announced that it was putting water restrictions in place.
Let's hope that the rain forecast to start at 3pm yesterday and to continue until 8pm today is not as bad as Monday because that could be a disaster.
Already Napier is under a state of emergency. People will be on tenterhooks as the sodden ground tries to cope with more rain.
At least people are prepared for the coming rain. Monday's event seemed to come out of left field.
Personally, I think Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise has done a great job with her response team.
She wasn't at all rattled at a media stand-up yesterday, answering questions calmly, and appeared to have a great team around her, all of them with a plan going forward.
There's one thing I'm certain of. Hawke's Bay's community spirit will come to the fore. I heard that Urban Deli in Napier was taking coffee and food to retailers slogging away trying to save their businesses.
That's the sort of thing that people in our community do. They rally around each other, lend a hand, feed people — money can't buy that kind of important support.
As usual, all our emergency response teams and the police were out helping people. What would we do without these people?
Yesterday there were multiple property and car insurance claims from people affected by the flooding and no doubt there will be a lot more to come when people clean up and assess the damage.
I know for some people insurance is one of the things they drop when money is tight and I understand that, but it really does pay to have at least the basics if you own a car or a home.
Yesterday I heard someone say it was a once in a 100-year event, then someone else said a once in a 150-year event.
However, we have had a lot of "events" this year — I'm hoping like heck that this is the last one for a very long time.
To all those affected by the flooding, I hope you are coping and are surrounded by friends and family.
Roll on Christmas — we really need something to celebrate.
