A person trapped by rising floodwaters was rescued from a rooftop in Hawkes Bay.
Video / HB Civil Defence Emergency Management Group
Another harrowing escape from rising floodwaters has been captured on video - this time showing an elderly man being rescued from a rooftop surrounded by floodwaters.
The Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management shared the dramatic footage on its Facebook page, which shows a man being picked up by helicopter from the roof of his home in Napier.
In the video, a helicopter can be seen approaching the area very cautiously as two people hold on to each other as they stand near the corner of a house roof. A satellite dish can be seen just to the left of the rooftop.
One of the pair is decked out in full emergency gear, including an orange high-vis jacket and helmet.
The second person is an elderly man wearing a thin jacket, shorts and slip-on shoes. His arms are close together and his knees slightly bent, as if cold and trying to keep himself balanced.
An elderly man is rescued via helicopter from his home in Napier yesterday. Image / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence
As his rescuer opens the door to the chopper, the old man reaches a hand out to it and, one foot in front of the other, carefully climbs in to safety.
“Extreme courage, skill and hope on display here,” the post says.
“Thank you to Trevor for providing this incredible footage of a daring rescue at Gilligan Road [yesterday].
Many people commenting on the post thanked the rescue teams for their work to save people - with some sharing their own tales of rescue, including the family of the man featured in the video.
The daughter of the man shared that the rescue was of her father and stepmother.
“One hundred per cent my family are alive thanks to this rescue. They are okay by the way - just in shock. We are so lucky they had the strength to climb out the windows and onto the roof.
“Thank goodness for these people...can’t believe it,” she says.
Another woman writes that her family was rescued after “hours of agony”.
“We lost everything except the most important thing in that water - our family - and that is because of you.”
