Rebuilding Rissington: Inside the rural Hawke’s Bay hamlet almost washed away by Cyclone Gabrielle

If you weren’t looking close enough, you’d miss it.

But on a sunny late January day, you can just see the glint of sunshine off an aluminium chimney slightly poking through mounds of dried silt and rapidly-spreading weeds on the side of Puketitiri Rd, Rissington.

The road is the main route through Rissington,a bush-clad Hawke’s Bay hamlet which suffered some of the worst flooding damage created by the near-biblical rainfall unleashed by Cyclone Gabrielle a year ago.

Look closer at the chimney and you’ll see part of what was once a family home’s roof – including a Sky TV dish – protruding from the property, which is otherwise still buried in a mountain of silt.

A January 25 visit to the Hawke's Bay hamlet of Rissington shows how damage still remains almost a year on from Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Neil Reid

The force of the wall of water that roiled down the swollen Mangaone River – carrying with it logs, mud and other debris - was such that the 94-year-old bridge in Rissington’s valley was destroyed.

Properties in its path were badly damaged – some beyond repair – after being engulfed in mud and silt.

One of the few homes in the valley that avoided serious damage is owned by Gretchen Absolom, who has proudly called Rissington home for 55 years.

The fact her home is on an elevated part of her property saved it. Absolom took shelter in it as the flooding caused havoc just metres below.

Her land still bears the scars of that night and the next morning, but she said it was nothing compared to what others were trying to recover from.

“My grandson’s been back to stay obviously a few times . . . and he’s in shock every time he comes,” Absolom said.

The sad scene of a modern house - swamped by silt which is now sprouting weeds - in flood-stricken Rissington. Photo / Neil Reid

“[Some locals] brought some English relatives just to visit and, and they, they were just speechless. It was just terrible. They said they’ve never seen anything like it.

“People get [lost] for words. They can’t find the words to express how they feel.”

For Absolom, one word sums up her feelings towards the state of her cherished rural hamlet.

“Depressing.

Fulton Hogan crews work on restoring access across the Mangaone River, Rissington, in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME

“You can see it is just a total disaster.”

Soldiers Settlement Rd, from which her property runs, is now more than a metre higher than it used to be, the level having risen due to the silt and logs that now lie under metal laid during the ongoing clean-up operation.

When the wood rots it will have to be dug up and relaid.

The road leading to Gretchen Absolom's Rissington home will eventually have to be dug up and relaid. Photo / Neil Reid

A single-lane Bailey bridge currently connects both sides of the valley.

The bridge wiped out by Cyclone Gabrielle had replaced previous bridges destroyed by storms in 1897 and 1924.

Work on a new permanent bridge is not expected until late 2025, with the aim of having it completed by early 2027.

The completion of a permanent bridge will be a huge milestone for residents.

All around Rissington are topographical reminders of the cyclone.

The old Rissington bridge structure lies against the river bank as the new Rissington Bailey Bridge construction carries on in the background. Photo/Warren Buckland

The hills around it feature scarring from severe landslides.

The course of the Mangaone River has moved; now 23 metres closer to one couple’s home than it was before February 13, 2023.

“At the top [of the drive into Rissington] you’re coming along and it looks normal and you come down and, oh, my heck . . .,” Absolom said.

“People still come to visit and they can’t believe it that it’s like it is.”

Some, like Absolom, have vowed to stay in the area.

A makeshift culvert in the weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle crossing the Mangaone river at Rissington after the area's bridge was destroyed. Photo / Paul Taylor

On Puketitiri Rd, some landowners are based in campervans while working on their properties. A foundation pad has been laid on one property.

Others have made the sad decision to leave Rissington and relocated to Napier - or left Hawke’s Bay altogether.

Absolom urged politicians and local council officials to “come visit” to get a sense of how tough the area is still doing it.

Eleven people tragically lost their lives in Cyclone Gabrielle, the majority in Hawke’s Bay.

Given the huge flooding Cyclone Gabrielle unleashed on Rissington, it is a miracle no one died in the valley. Photo / Neil Reid

And having watched the Mangaone River erupt on the morning of February 14 from her elevated section, Absolom said it was incredible that the death toll didn’t include anyone from the hamlet she still proudly calls home.

“The blessing is that no one in the district was washed away. It’s a miracle that only 11 died.”

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience. He was on the frontline of NZME’s coverage of Cyclone Gabrielle when it hit Hawke’s Bay and closely followed the clean-up operation that followed.