By Jemima Huston of RNZ
Some Esk Valley locals are feeling angry and abandoned in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Others are just getting on with the job of cleaning up and supporting their community.
Pheasant Farm, an apple orchard in Eskdale, is filled with silt, fruit is strewn everywhere and machinery is upended and waterlogged.
It’s owned by Malcolm Davie and his family who live on the property.
They’ve decided to stay, even though they can only come and go on foot because mud is blocking their driveway.
Davie said the limited help they’ve received from council and Government is not good enough.
“We need more diggers, more resources, more money, and more people.
“To date, we’ve had very little support from central Government. We’ve not seen one person from Hastings District Council.
“So I say to officialdom, please get out here, have a look and give us some help”.
However, Davie acknowledged the local community and Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence had been very supportive.
“It’s noteworthy that we have people who have lost their homes and have nothing but a pair of shorts and their own cellphone, they’re out here helping”.
Further into the valley, Graeme Morgan’s home escaped floodwaters and is undamaged.
Even so, he and his wife have made the decision to leave Eskdale for good.
“Luckily we’re a couple of metres higher than the flood zone. We were about a metre from the water coming through to our house, and we’re all safe and sound”.
Morgan said the uncertainty about when power and sewerage will be restored meant they could not continue to live there.
“We can’t live with no power, and the dust is horrendous.
“The whole situation is just not suitable. It’s liveable but not suitable”.
Down the road at the Linden Estate winery staff said they were devastated but not defeated.
The estate was hit hard by the flood with silt and water ripping through the vineyards, cellars and winery.
Business manager Allan den Boer said they have had a lot of help cleaning up from their team and volunteers.
“We’re making progress. It’s slow but we’re making progress.
“The wine that we have remaining has been salvaged and we’re working through that. We’ve started cleaning out the big barrel hall but we haven’t even looked at the winery yet, the implement shed and the vineyards.
“But at least we’ve started, which is a good feeling”.
Den Boer said knowing where to start the cleanup has been difficult with such an enormous mess.
“From a position of being absolutely daunted and didn’t know where to start, had no idea, to a position now where we’re actually making a little tiny dent in it”.
The winery has set up a community hub at its restaurant Valley D’Vine offering food, water, first aid, toiletries, welfare forms and a chance for people to connect.
Allan den Boer said restaurant owner Greg Miller came up with the idea.
“The restaurant here wasn’t touched, which is lucky, because it’s a double-storey building.
“There’s seats, there’s tables, people can get here... There’s fridges where we can keep food.
“[The restaurant] is the logical place for a community hub. I think it’s fabulous”.
Local people looking for support can visit the community hub in Eskdale at 347 State Highway 5.
- RNZ
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