Opinion: Three weeks after Hawke’s Bay floods that have jarred us all from our states of complacency

A car in a silt-covered paddock in Puketapu Rd on March 8. Cyclone Gabrielle is a wake-up call for us all. Photo / Paul Taylor

OPINION:

One of the biggest dangers in a natural disaster is complacency beforehand.

Hearing stories of people stuck on the roofs of houses during the flooding in Hawke’s Bay had me thinking about my own reaction to the possibility of flooding.

I live on what I would guess is higher ground. It is slightly higher than the rest of the town, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe from flooding.

When warnings of the cyclone came out, I thought I should at least make sure that anything of value or anything that has to do with my livelihood was up high enough that it wouldn’t be damaged.

And as silly as it sounds, I disconnected a few things from the power, wondering what would happen if the water hit anything electrical.

But that was about as much preparation as I did.

This prompted me to think that perhaps I’m being a bit complacent when it comes to natural disasters.

I grew up in Manawatū and they were a part of life.

Flooding was an issue as the house I grew up in was about 200m from the Mangaone Stream.

When Cyclone Bola hit in 1988, our back lawn was pretty much a swamp, but the water didn’t come up as far as the steps.

Others in our area weren’t so lucky – about 1km away, the streets were flooded.

We never had survival kits but the thought of having food and water to survive for at least three days never entered our minds. Nor did we have any kind of an escape plan.

It’s something I really should think about, especially after something that happened about 10 years ago.

I was living in a little flat in Auckland and there was a power cut – I believe it was because a transformer blew – and power was out for about 15 hours.

So there I was, in this little flat, wholly reliant on electricity, and no way to cook anything. I couldn’t even boil water for a cuppa.

I was lucky that I could walk into Auckland city centre and grab something to eat at the local Burger King.

But how would I cope if a disaster were to strike now with no way to cook food, or even boil water?

I admit I’m hopeless at getting to know my neighbours. When I was a kid, it wasn’t an issue – we knew practically everyone in the street, and we all looked out for each other.

Then again, that was in the days when neighbourhoods seemed to be a lot friendlier.

These days, we all seem to isolate ourselves in our own little bubbles. I would feel terrible about going to my neighbours asking for help, even in the midst of a disaster.

So the point of all this is, it’s not just about being complacent. We can’t afford to think, “this will never happen to me” because it can, it does.

We also need to at least make the effort to get to know our neighbours – we never know when we might need them, or vice-versa. If the past three weeks have taught us anything, it’s that we all need to stick together and lend a hand now and then.

- Leanne Warr is Hawke’s Bay Today’s Dannevirke reporter