Tinui has been flooded after Cyclone Gabrielle hit. Photo / Supplied
Tinui residents have a massive clean-up job on their hands after the edge of Cyclone Gabrielle tore through their isolated Wairarapa community this week.
“It’s like someone picked the district up and just sort of threw it around,” said Tinui Times editor Caryl Forrest.
There are two rivers in Tinui which meet just outside the village, she said.
On Tuesday those rivers burst their stop banks, causing widespread damage across farmland and the few buildings that remained on the floodplains.
Many buildings had been moved to higher ground after a similarly devastating flood in 1991.
“I went down in the car to have a look at the river and drove over the bridge and thought ‘this is coming up fast’, and half an hour later the entire village was inundated,” Forrest said.
One woman who was new to the area didn’t realise what was happened and ended up having to be rescued from her house in a boat, she said.
Many residents were without power for two days.
As floodwaters recede, the damage is becoming apparent.
“Tinui school . . . everything is covered with silt. There’s an 1870 old general store called the craft shop and that’s full of knitted and handmade garments and most of them will have to be tossed out.
“There’s been huge damage all around the district.”
There were “huge slips” and the river had torn through properties.
“It’s carved whole new channels.”
Kilometres of fencing had been swept away along with livestock, she said.
“Now we’ve got a huge clean-up job.”
Masterton District Council said on its Facebook page eastern and coastal communities remained isolated yesterday due to multiple road closures.
These are being cleared as it is safe to do so but people should avoid all unnecessary travel.
“Power outages are affecting the treatment plant and pumps at Tinui – residents are asked to conserve water and fill containers in case of outages.
Road closures, last updated on Wednesday afternoon:
How a resilient Kiwi village hopes to bounce back from a big drop in visitors.