Remembering the 11 people who died during Cyclone Gabrielle last year.
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Ian McKenzie McLauchlan. Brendan Lewis Miller. Helen Street. Susane Caccioppoli. Ivy Collins. John Coates. Marie Greene. George Luke. Shona Wilson. Dave van Zwanenberg. Craig Stevens.
Eleven lives lost, 11 empty chairs at the dinner table, 11 whānau for whom Gabrielle will always mean tragic loss and a profound grief.
One year on from the once-in-a-century cyclone that devastated parts of Aotearoa’s North Island, we remember the 11 fatal victims of the brutal force of nature’s elements.
The biggest known loss of life was in Hawke’s Bay, where rivers burst their banks and sodden land gave way, sweeping young and old to their deaths.
There was also loss of life to the north, in Tairāwhiti, while two volunteer firefighters paid the ultimate price for their service to the community when a landslide came down on a stricken home in the Auckland beach community of Muriwai.
Ian McKenzie McLauchlan
Ian McKenzie McLauchlan.
Ian McKenzie McLauchlan, 76, was found dead in Waiohiki on February 17, police said. His obituary stated he was dearly loved by his wife and had two children.
“Police’s thoughts and condolences are with Ian’s family and friends,” a police spokesperson said.
Brendan Lewis Miller
Brendan Lewis Miller with son Henry.
Brendan Lewis Miller, 43, died after his work truck is believed to have washed away in floodwaters after it was driven over a collapsed bridge. His body was retrieved from the Kikowhero stream by a neighbour in Crownthorpe.
His obituary described him as “one of life’s characters, and a good friend to many”.
He had one son, described as his “shining star”.
Helen Street
Helen Street tragically died at her house in the Napier suburb of Onekawa when Cyclone Gabrielle hit in February 2023.
Helen Street, aged 86, died at her home in the Napier suburb of Onekawa two days after Cyclone Gabrielle lashed Hawke’s Bay.
The much-loved mum, grandmother and great-grandmother suffered from heart failure and was dependent on an electricity-powered oxygen machine at home and oxygen tanks when out and about.
Susane Caccioppoli died in the Napier flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Susane Caccioppoli, a “devoted and protective” mother, who survived breast cancer twice, died after being swept away by rising floodwaters that hit the Hawke’s Bay home she and her friend were housesitting.
Susane’s daughter Bianka-Lee Bryan described her mother as a cheerful, welcoming and kind constant who was available to everyone at any time for a coffee, a chat and a laugh.
“She will be remembered as a devoted and protective mother, oma, daughter and sister, with so much love to give,” Bryan said in an emotional tribute on social media.
“She was gifted with a voice of an angel, blessing everyone at the local country music club for many years. She was always happiest when with her family.”
The younger of Ella and Jack Collins’ two daughters died after she was swept from her pregnant mum’s shoulders as the family tried to reach safety at a neighbour’s house, after the Esk River sent a torrent of water through homes across the Esk Valley, north of Napier.
They’d woken at 3am to discover water in the house, soon realising their lives were in danger, Jack’s brother Adam Collins told the Herald.
“They were trying to come up with a plan, they had a few minutes, trying to get the dogs inside, organise the pets, and then this wave came through which added to the water in the house quite significantly, sort of halfway up the walls,” Collins said.
“At that point they knew they had to get out. It’s a one-storey house, they didn’t have roof space.”
Mum Ella Collins described Ivy - “our beautiful baby girl” - as a “bright shining light ... [who] charged through life with a beautiful smile on her face regardless of what stood in her way”.
John Coates
John Robert Dudley Coates was found dead in floodwaters on his Te Karaka property on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
Rescuers tried three times to reach John Coates after floodwaters engulfed his home in Te Karaka, 30km northwest of Gisborne.
“It went from ankle deep to vehicles floating in 20 minutes ... It was like an inland tsunami of water coming in, basically”, son Chris Coates told the Herald of the flooding caused when the Waipāoa River breached in multiple places.
“The amount of water that was located in this area has made [Cyclone] Bola look like a storm in a teacup.”
Five-hundred Te Karaka residents who did make it to safety would spend 27 hours trapped on a hill waiting for help.
Coates was part of a family who had lived in the Te Karaka area for more than a century.
The farmer, who also ran an earthmoving company, was a “huge member of the community”, Te Karaka resident Shawn Smyth said.
“John Coates Earthmoving, he does all the forestry, roading for all of the Mangatu ... everyone will know that name,” Smyth said.
Cyclone Gabrielle victim Marie Greene's body was found in her cottage in Dartmoor Rd in Puketapu, west of Napier.
A much-loved mum described by her daughter Rachel as “generous and kind”, Marie Greene died when the Tūtaekurī River burst its banks and sent a torrent of water towards the settlement of Puketapu.
The son of Greene’s landlord found her body in her cottage, 13km northwest of Napier.
On a Givealittle page set up to support Greene’s daughter, the 59-year-old’s cousin Lance Julian described the loss of “one of the most generous people you’d ever meet”.
“She had the sort of personality that everyone gravitated towards. She was an all-round people person who loved being with her friends and family. She was a smiling face on the checkout at New World in Greenmeadows,” Julian said.
George Luke
George Luke, father of Kiwis star Issac Luke, died after he was hit by a slip on Taihape-Napier Rd.
The Taranaki rugby league community mourned the loss of local club stalwart George Luke, father of former Kiwis star Issac Luke, after he died following a slip on Taihape-Napier Rd as Cyclone Gabrielle swept over.
Luke and his partner Mau Goodman were returning to Hastings from Rotorua and took the winding route over the Kaweka Ranges when bad weather closed the Napier-Taupo road.
When the family did not hear from them, a desperate search was launched.
They were eventually located and evacuated by helicopter separately and flown to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in Hastings, where Luke later died.
Former Warriors and Kiwis star Issac Luke said he was “broken” by his father’s death.
“My first hero,” he wrote on social media. “See you soon dad. I love you.”
Shona Wilson
Shona Wilson died when a landslide struck her home in Tūtira, Hawke's Bay.
A mum of three teens, Shona Wilson died when a slip crashed through her home in Tūtira, north of Napier.
Her partner, Bill Chrystal - who survived the slip along with Wilson’s daughter - dug for several hours in the dark through up to four metres of mud in an unsuccessful attempt to save his partner of nine years.
The slip crashed through a bedroom in the corner of the house on a Matahoura Rd lifestyle block.
Had it been a metre closer, all three would have likely perished, Bill said.
Dave van Zwanenberg
Muriwai Volunteer firefighter Dave van Zwanenberg died in a landslide while helping at a damaged house in Muriwai during Cyclone Gabrielle on February 13, 2023.
The widow of the volunteer firefighter, veterinarian and father killed in a slip at Muriwai described him as the “cornerstone” of her family’s lives.
Dave van Zwanenberg died helping evacuate residents and is being remembered for his good humour, his authentic care, his intelligence and supreme competence at anything he turned his hand to.
“First and foremost, a family man, Dave was dedicated to spending quality time with his children and building a life to nurture their growth,” widow Amy van Zwanenberg said last year, paying tribute to her husband.
“You give me the strength to continue to be the mum I need to be, to help Dave’s beautiful children thrive despite this pain, and to be the legacy that he would be most proud of.”
Volunteer firefighter Craig Stevens is survived by his wife Lucy and their two children Kauri, 6, and Tai, 4.
Muriwai firefighter Craig Stevens died in hospital two days after he was critically injured in the same slip that killed his colleague Dave van Zwanenberg.
Friends set up a Givealittle for Stevens, to help support his wife Lucy and children Kauri, 6, and Tai, 4.
“I met ‘Rock n Roll Craig’ when he moved to Oxford, aged 16,” friend Alex Leech said.
“He grabbed life with both hands and shook it into submission, no matter what the situation.”
Stevens once said his mum told him to walk into any room like he owned the place, and “he sure did do that”, Leech added.
“Well stand aside Jesus, there’s a new guy in charge of heaven now.”
