East Coast flooding: Volunteers' brave act in flooded Waipiro Bay

A crew from Rua Bioscience used a ladder as an impromptu bridge to help deliver a generator so a kaumātua had power to operate his nebuliser helping him breathe. Photo / Eru Walker

A group of East Coasters braved rising flood waters and created an improvised ladder bridge over a swept away piece of farmland to deliver a gift of life to a sick kaumātua.

The elderly person's power had been cut off due to Wednesday morning's torrential downpour, and needed an emergency delivery of a generator so their all-important nebuliser could work.

Ruatoria-based Talmage Herbert was among Rua Bioscience staff who on Wednesday morning became concerned for fellow East Coasters after the huge downpours which have slammed the region since Tuesday night.

Shortly afterwards they were alerted to the potential serious health plight of a kaumātua living at Waipiro Bay; a coastal settlement, which had been hammered by the first night of the storm.

A rescue mission saw a generator delivered to a Waipiro Bay kaumātua with health issues after his power was cut off. Photo / Eru Walker

The man requires the services of a nebuliser to aid with his breathing, but he was unable to use it as power had been cut to his property.

"[The nebuliser] was a health apparatus that he needed to function," Herbert told the Herald.

"Once word like that came through, it was like, 'This is important, we have to really get this out there'.

"There was no guarantee of there being power [being on anytime soon]."

Despite the huge "downpour" of rain that hit the East Coast overnight Tuesday, when he awoke the next morning there was initially "no real sense of panic" for how bad the area might be impacted by the weather.

An aerial view of some of the large flooding on the East Coast. Photo / Eru Walker

But after seeing a myriad of posts on social media, and alerts sent out by local authorities, it was a quick realisation of: "Hell, things have kind of turned to s***".

His colleagues then learned of the plight of one of their workmates and also the kaumātua whose property had been badly hit, had been isolated from neighbours and had no power.

"We found out one of our colleagues, one of our mates, was stuck out at Waipiro . . . essentially they had been flushed out and old mate had essentially now got his own island," Hebert said.

"While there was a big gap in the rain a few of us from work loaded up, got a couple of generators . . . we got word that one of the kaumātua down there uses a nebuliser and having power was a necessity for him.

"So we got hooked up with a couple of generators and a ute and one of three of us boogied down there real quick when there was a gap in the rain. We were fortunate we got there when there was a gap between the downpours . . . we were fortunate with the window of opportunity we had."

Flood waters on the East Coast have turned some farm paddocks into virtual lakes. Photo / Neil Reid

On arrival at Waipiro Bay the impact of the flooding shocked Herbert.

Sections of road had been washed away and numerous slips of rocks, mud and fallen trees partially blocked other sections of the road.

Due to a washout of a bridge leading onto the property where the kaumātua lives, the group of three had to carry a 30kg generator over an impromptu bridge using a ladder they had with them.

"We had to [get out of the ute] a couple of hundred metres before we got to where we had to be and then there was a little bit of a hikoi with the generators before we got them to where they had to be," he said.

"Normally there is a road there, a little bridge that you can get across. But that obviously got washed out. Half of the bridge has been swept out . . . the culverts are now out on the beach.

"Luckily we had a ladder for that last bit."

Herbert said the trio were proud to have been able to deliver the generator safely to help protect the kaumātua's wellbeing.

They then made a rapid exit before the second huge downpour of rain arrived on Wednesday afternoon.

"There wasn't much chit-chat," he said. "We just wanted to get out of there before the next downpour.

"We didn't get to see [the kaumātua] but it was just good to know we had got that taken care of . . . that was the only priority."

The rainfall on the East Coast has been so bad that up to 540mm has fallen in some parts over the past week.

It has led to a closure of sections of SH35.

It was Gisborne's turn to feel the brunt of the weather overnight on Wednesday, leading to closures of SH2 south of the city.

Sections of SH35 remain closed today after the huge downpours of rain and flooding over the past 48 hours. Photo / Neil Reid

Herbert said he was proud to see how East Coasters were coping in the face of the rain and the damage flooding had caused.

Locals were resilient and even those whose property had been badly damaged were helping out neighbours.

"You have to do the do, there is no point in sulking about things now . . . we can take time for that later," he said.

"The damage is rampant and people have it a lot worse than us.

"[On the East Coast], in moments of crisis people unify and it is good to see. It is awesome to see the amount of positivity and the amount of people who have been helping each other. When word came out that we needed to get a generator down to Waipiro Bay, there was no shortage of people volunteering.

"You know you are surrounded by good people when that happens."

That positivity in the face of adversity includes one local in Waipiro Bay whose home was washed away by the floodwaters on Wednesday night.

A house is about to be washed away on the East Coast due to the raging flood waters. Photo / Len Walker

Herbert saw the man on his trip to the settlement earlier in the day. At that stage the property was badly damaged and the man was trying to salvage whatever possessions he could before the second dumping of rain which led to the home being washed away.

"We did get to see him [the owner] when we went down there [on Wednesday] and that guy is Captain Positivity.

"When we went to see him he still had a grin, was still being optimistic. So if that can't knock him off his horse, then nothing really can. He was out there trying to salvage what he could as everyone was preparing for the second wave of downpours.

"Hats off to that guy . . . he is Captain Positivity."

Herbert said after the two nights of massive rainfall, a sense of calm was now over the East Coast weatherwise.

But he was not sure how long that would last.

"It's calm right now. Everything's gone quiet and the birds are chirping.

"The sun's out and there's a bit of blue sky.

"But you can see some more bad clouds . . ."