Flooding: Trip for milk and bread nearly ends in disaster

Removing Debris from Gladstone Rd bridge. Photo / Gisborne Herald

A quick trip to the country township of Te Karaka for milk and bread nearly ended in disaster for two residents at the height of the flooding on Monday.

Rutene Irwin and Adele Booth had to be towed out of a build-up of water on the way back to their nearby Whatatutu home after the Waipaoa River overflowed during the flooding.

"We ducked out to the shop in Te Karaka and saw the river was getting quite high," Mrs Booth said.

"As we headed back to Whatatutu across the Puha Bridge we saw there was a heap of water over the road and thought we could make it across.

"I drove as slow as I could but obviously not slow enough because we cut out halfway."

The father and daughter were stranded in their car for 20 to 30 minutes before the fire brigade arrived and a 4x4, driven by Terence Durdy, managed to tow them out.

"By then it had come right up to the seats inside the vehicle and our bums were getting wet.

"We were getting a bit anxious because we did not want the car to start floating, and if it went sideways and tipped it would have been a bit of a problem.

"We would not have been able to get dad out."

Spud Huhu was on the Puha bridge taking photos of the logs coming down the river before the "horrible" ordeal.

"I told them not to go over," he said.

"They thought they would be all right because they saw someone else drive through it, but they did not make it."

He called the fire brigade and his friend, Terence Durdy, who he knew could drag the car out.

"I said, 'Stay with the vehicle. It is all good, help is on the way'.

"Their car was full of water. It was pretty scary.

"Thankfully they are OK now."

Although her car was wrecked, Mrs Booth said they were reflecting on what was a "lucky escape".

"We will think twice before driving through water that deep again."