Cyclone Gabrielle: A Capital Letter - Heartbreak and the need for ‘folding’ in Hawke’s Bay

OPINION:

I scoffed when Wayne Brown took a swipe at Wellington and questioned the city’s preparedness for a big earthquake but, as I got ready to travel to cyclone-ravaged Hawke’s Bay, I questioned how ready I personally was.

I had to do a shop for gumboots, a battery-powered radio and water. Such last-minute preparations were an impossible luxury for those in Hawke’s Bay.

Residents went to sleep on Monday night expecting some damage from Cyclone Gabrielle - but not utter devastation.

Todd Smith cleaning up his home in Whirinaki. Few would have expected the devastation Cyclone Gabrielle would cause. Photo / Warren Buckland

My family lives in Hawke’s Bay. When I woke up that Tuesday morning I texted my mum to ask her how they were.

Mum said the Esk Valley was terrible and my sister’s friends were in waist-deep water the last time she’d heard from them. She said Napier had just lost power.

Then the texts stopped. My messages to mum were greeted with radio silence.

One of the most challenging things for those lucky enough to escape physical damage to their homes was communications going down.

It meant people had no idea what was going on in their own community. Even days after the cyclone had swept through the region, some people were only seeing pictures of the destruction for the first time.

It was also unpredictable. Mum lost cellphone coverage but dad kept his (no data though), then dad’s went down and mum’s came back.

Mum later told me she went to the garage every hour to turn on the car and listen to the radio news bulletins.

This was effectively her only source of information. Many others had none.

I arrived in Napier that Thursday after its more than 66,000 residents were told to expect to be without power for at least two weeks.

People started panicking. Huge queues for petrol and gas bottles stretched down streets, through intersections, and around city blocks.

There were long lines for petrol and gas in Napier during the power outage after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor

Some wanted fuel so they could get back to Hastings when the roads reopened, others wanted it in case they needed to rush to higher ground, some just wanted it for the comfort of knowing it was in the tank.

There were also long lines for ATM machines and many ran out of money. I used to think my dad was pretty old-school always carrying some “folding”, but now it’s something I’ll be adding to my earthquake kit.

On Friday I witnessed an ugly fight that broke out in one of these lines. Two men were shouting and shoving each other during the altercation.

“Move your “f*****g car,” one yelled.

It was one of many fights and arguments which erupted as the days dragged on. Tensions were running high.

Outside of the cities and towns, tensions were about to boil over.

I visited a community near Whirinaki where residents felt like they had been left to their own devices.

Many of their homes were destroyed by the muddy silt that seemed to have accumulated in endless amounts across Hawke’s Bay.

Locals had set up their own checkpoint with concrete bollards and road cones following reports of gang members scoping out the area and looting.

The clean-up effort in a community near Whirinaki. Photo / Warren Buckland

Can you imagine surviving rapidly rising flood waters, spending days shovelling mud out of your home, and having to do night shifts at a community checkpoint so gangs don’t take what you have left?

Think about how they felt when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins played down fears of a crime wave after reports of looting and a pistol and shotgun being aimed at recovery workers.

Debating whether there is a state of lawlessness in Hawke’s Bay misses the point. What matters is the victims of these crimes are people who have already lost everything.

I have since had it confirmed that a petrol station in Napier was broken into as soon as the power was cut. These lowlifes were taking advantage of the devastation right from the get-go.

The devastation was piled up in driveways and on the side of the road for all to see.

In Pakowhai, the entire contents of people’s homes had been chucked into large sodden heaps. Couches, fridges, beds, food from pantries - everything was wrecked.

Apple trees laden with fruit were surrounded by that same sludgy silt in Twyford.

One orchard owner was ankle-deep in mud as he trudged across to the nearest tree and picked an apple for me to try.

It was perfect - red, crunchy, and sweet. My heart broke with every bite. How were they going to get them all off the trees in time? Well, they didn’t know how but they were going to try.

All of it was a reminder of how quickly life as we know it can change. It’s a matter of when - not if - a big earthquake hits Wellington.

So I’m off to buy another pair of gumboots - I left mine in Hawke’s Bay for a workmate who needed them.

• Senior Wellington journalist Georgina Campbell’s fortnightly column looks closely at issues in the capital.