Flooding in Pōrangahau during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME
Flooding in Pōrangahau during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME
Pōrangahau village is still recovering from the “traumatic” floods during Cyclone Gabrielle and a stopbank design has now been revealed as the best solution to prevent those floods from happening again.
However, questions have been raised about whether the new stopbank design could infringe on existing homes, and whether the marae will be raised or relocated under the plans.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) announced on Thursday it has moved 91 homes and properties in Pōrangahau township out of Category 2A and into Category 2C – meaning that the village has been moved out of limbo and won’t be red-zoned in future.
“This proposed flood scheme will be the first of its kind for the community and will contribute to creating a more resilient and sustainable future as we face increasingly severe weather events,” HBRC chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby said.
The proposal includes building stopbanks and “flood walls” on the northern bank of the Pōrangahau River right next to the village.
However, no stopbank is planned to be built on the south side of the river apart from a “bund” around the urupā (cemetery), under the proposal.
That means Rongomaraeroa Marae on the south side of the river – which is the “heartbeat” of the community – will either need to be relocated or raised in future as well as some nearby dwellings.
A question mark also hangs over whether any homes will make way for the new stopbank on the north side of the river.
A regional council spokeswoman said that part of the project was a “work in progress” and the proposal was “still in proposed concept design”.
Pōrangahau has been re-categorised with 91 properties now in 2C. Photo / HBRC
Long-term Pōrangahau resident Piri Galbraith owns the Pōrangahau Dairy property and runs the Kurawaka Retreat Centre, both of which were flooded during the “traumatic” cyclone last year. She is also a Māori adviser for Central Hawke’s Bay District Council.
She said she was concerned that some people’s homes potentially could make way for the new stopbank, depending on final design decisions.
She claimed there “was no room for a stopbank” between some homes and the river, and she had doubts a flood wall would be strong enough, as an alternative.
“There are [probably] two or three homes that are where the stopbank needs to go. What happens to those whanau and homes?”
She said Rongomaraeroa Marae was also the “heartbeat” of the community and needed to be protected.
Money for the flood protection work will come from the Government’s North Island Weather Events (NIWE) funding, the regional council said.
Category 2A has been referred to as “limbo” because it includes a risk of being red-zoned in future (placed in Category 3), while Category 2C means viable flood protection has been identified and the area is on track to be deemed safe to live in once again (placed in Category 1).
Pōrangahau property owners were sent letters in late October advising of the category change and what it means for them.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
