Army moves in as Whakatane residents battered by nature

By AINSLEY THOMSON in Whakatane

It has been an unnerving 48 hours for Whakatane residents.

Numerous earthquakes have shaken the Bay of Plenty town that still lives with the memory of the 1987 Edgecumbe quake.

But it is the floods that have caused the most distress.

It is understood hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and have been forced to spend the night in the War Memorial hall or with relatives or friends.

The flooding began in the town on Saturday after days of inland rain finally took its toll.

Initially it was the main shopping area that succumbed to the water and houses near the mouth of the Whakatane River.

The central business area was evacuated as were a number of houses either at risk from rising the water or mudslides.

Then morning bought the discovery that the suburb of Awatapu was also at risk. The lagoon that circles around the suburb had burst its banks, flooding hundreds of houses.

Most residents were woken by a knock at the door from the army, telling to grab essential items and leave immediately.

Those evacuated were taken to the memorial hall where they sat and anxiously waited for news of the approaching high tide.

Pera Tipene and six members of her family were among about three hundred people spending last night at the hall.

Ms Tipene had the luxury of more time than others and had managed to rescue her two cats and two dogs - all of whom were now living in the family's van.

With her was her mother Doris Himone from Te Teko, a small settlement on the outskirts of Whakatane which had last night been completely evacuated.

Mrs Himone had been staying with her daughter in Whakatane and had not been home for a week. She had no idea how badly flooded her home was.

"I could be seeing my house floating down the river any minute," she said.

Another woman in the hall, who did not want to be named, said when she left her Awatapu house the water was knee deep.

She had woken to find the water lapping against the house and had no idea what was going on.

"There was no siren or nothing, so we stuck the radio on but there was nothing, so we rung 111 and they said the army was evacuating us."

In Awatapu, residents unaffected by the flood were taking in other families until the water subsided.

Jeremy Thompson had an extra five people staying at his house, and others had up to three families bunking down in lounges.

It was not just residents caught by the floodwaters.

Emma Pera from Gisborne was travelling home from Auckland with her father and daughter when they were stranded in Whakatane on Saturday night.

The three were spending another night in the hall, and were hoping to get home today.

"It's just an inconvenience for us. Other people here have the risk of losing their homes."

Jenny Mahone, a Whakatane district councillor, was one of the many people helping at the hall.

Ms Mahone said volunteer organisations such as the Salvation Army had been invaluable and other residents who had not been affected by the floods were going out of their way to help with food and other donations.