Cyclone Gabrielle: ‘We have lost everything’ - Napier family recall incredible flood escape

Siblings (from left) Vivian Bell, Brian Bell and Phillip Galyer narrowly escaped with their lives. Photo / Warren Buckland

As raging floodwaters threatened to swallow a shed on the outskirts of Napier, a family of seven huddled inside and held a “please help” sign to the second-floor window.

“We did not think we were going to make it,” Phillip Galyer said. “Another metre of water and we would have been gone.”

Galyer has lived in Esk Valley north of Napier for over 20 years and was caught in wild floodwaters on Monday night along with his three siblings, his parents, and niece.

“We have lost everything, we only have the clothes on our backs, and most of those we have borrowed.”

He said they received a knock at the door about 11.30pm on Monday from Civil Defence, and most of their property was under water within minutes as the flood rose rapidly.

Destruction in Esk Valley north of Napier following floods. Photo / Warren Buckland

“They said they could not help us [evacuate] and they told us to stay until they could get to us.”

His family live in a cluster of homes on a property off SH5 and scrambled to gather in the tallest building on the property, a two-storey shed.

“The water came up quickly, the house was filling up just like that, and the water was rushing through so fast,” Galyer said.

“It was like we were in a lake. We were upstairs and we were lucky it did not get up that high.”

Sister Vivian Bell said they watched the floodwaters get higher and higher as they held a “please help” sign to the window.

The floodwaters destroyed properties across Esk Valley. Photo / Warren Buckland

The water was about one step away from flooding the second floor when it stopped rising, to the immense relief of the survivors inside.

She said they “were up all night” watching cars and even homes float by in the floodwaters and hoping the water would subside.

Eventually, a rescue boat spotted their sign in the window and came to help. However, it was not until about Tuesday midday that they were able to get out of the building and make their way to SH5 in metres of silt and mud.

They were then driven to an evacuation centre at Bay View Hotel and the family has been there since.

“The people here have been amazing,” Bell said, of the locals offering up food and blankets and clothing.

“We just want to get back and check on the animals,” Bell said. “We don’t know what we are going back to.”

Debris washed up near Bay View, north of Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

The Esk Valley turned into a raging river during the early hours of Tuesday. Photo / Supplied

“The whole valley just became a river”

An Esk Valley resident says the “whole valley just became a river” during the catastrophic floods on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The resident, who did not want to be named, lives up a hill overlooking much of the valley and estimated “at least” 50 homes would have been damaged or destroyed.

“Once there was light [on Tuesday morning] we were just gobsmacked,” she said.

“We were literally on a lake. The whole valley just became a river.”

A huge clean-up job is underway in Esk Valley near Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

The valley is full of orchards, vineyards and farms and she said it was incredible to see it turn into raging floodwaters so quickly.

She said helicopters and boats were travelling up the valley all day on Tuesday rescuing people including from their roofs. Eskdale School was set up as an immediate evacuation point.

She said a lot of people were hurting in the community following the flooding.