The Front Page: A local’s perspective on the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on the East Coast

Homes across the East Coast were submerged during the storm. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today (Warren Buckland)

The East Coast of the North Island was absolutely hammered by the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Speaking to The Front Page podcast, Hawke’s Bay Today editor Chris Hyde says that very little looks akin to what the community would call normal.

“Anytime you go anywhere rurally right now, you just see the massive impacts of the water that came down from the hills,” Hyde says.

“We’ve always been a flood plain, but we are now mud flat and soon we’ll be a dust flat. This is going to be the case for months to come. It’s going to be impossible to clean it all up.”

Hyde has been working relentlessly with his team in the region, doing his best to keep the community informed amid power cuts and road blockages.

He says that some of the reporting has been the toughest he has ever had to work on in his life as a journalist.

Thousands of people in the region still remain unaccounted for and there are concerns that the death toll, currently at 11 across the North Island, could increase as recovery continues.

“I think the death toll will increase,” says Hyde.

“I don’t think it will increase by anything like what the rumours suggest it may.”

Hyde says among the 3000 people who are still not contactable, you have many without power, phone lines or road access. In addition to this, there are some who do not want to be contacted at all – making it difficult to estimate how much danger they are in.

So exactly how bad are things in Hawke’s Bay and on the east coast? What caused most of the damage? Is an under-investment in infrastructure to blame? Why are people so angry at the forestry industry? Why have some people resorted to looting? And what should New Zealanders do to help those in need?

Listen to today’s episode of The Front Page podcast for a local’s perspective on the ongoing crisis on the East Coast.