Kirsten Wise: Napier mayor provides a Cyclone Gabrielle update for Hawke's Bay

Parts of the Hawke’s Bay region remain cut off today without water, power, or cell coverage, with officials scrambling to find out more about the devastation in the cold light of day.

Two people are confirmed dead, others are still trapped or awaiting supplies, and officials have “big gaps of knowledge” as to the state of isolated areas.

One woman died after a landslip on her property in northern Hawke’s Bay and another person’s body has been found on a storm-ravaged beach.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council chief executive Doug Tate said it was “pretty brutal out there” and said council’s thoughts went out to everybody affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

“The scale of it is just incredible, really,” he said.

Council still was not sure of the state of some areas in the region due to the breakdown in communications - caused by damage to fibre lines providing mobile coverage to the area.

 “Out toward the coast we’ve got big gaps of knowledge. It’s sort of funny, in a normal day losing a bridge is a really big deal and pretty much by the end of yesterday it was just another bridge that we’re just adding to the list.”

There are about 150 houses in lower Waipawa that are underwater, he said.

“You know, people kind of laughed at us when we said ‘look guys, you need to get out’, and in the space of an hour and a half, not even half an hour, we had nearly a metre and a half of water through some properties.”

Damage to farm areas was a big focus for council, “trying to get some reconnaissance over that wider area”.

He also said parts of the region had no water supply and could expect not to have any for several days.

“Both of our treatment plants have been submerged quite significantly,” he said.

“It’s going to be pretty hard going for those urban areas in that context as well.”

Tate said his was one of the first homes in Waipukurau to be flooded.

There was “so much still do to” and “still a lot we don’t know”, he said.

“You will have heard the messages from everybody else: absolute caution, stay home . . . listen out to the key messaging, that’s kind of a really big thing for us that we’re continuing to promote.

“If people were safe at home and didn’t need to go anywhere, the ‘best thing to do is just stay there’, he said.

He called on people to check on their neighbours if able.

Rescues continuing

Posts on social media said a group of 42 people were trapped on a hill on Korokipo Rd in Omahu.

“The rescue helicopter will be taking them food and water this morning, I’m not sure of a rescue plan at this stage but the water has started to recede around them,” the post said.

The New Zealand Defence Force regular and reserve forces have helped rescue about 200 people in Esk Valley, Napier, and wider Hawke’s Bay. As of 8.40am the NZ Army teams overall have rescued about 200 people, with the number still climbing.

An Esk Valley, Hawke's Bay, resident is plucked to safety by Defence Force personnel in an NH90 helicopter. Photo / Defence Force

Three NH90 helicopters responded to the Hawke’s Bay area as part of a multi-agency response, with one of the tasks involving recovering people from the rooftops of their homes in Esk Valley.

Other tasks have involved moving about 60 to 100 people from Hastings, as well as moving medical supplies around the region.

NZDF released photos of people being plucked from rooftops in the region as floodwaters raged below, and carrying locals through swamped streets in boats.

Wairoa cut off

Wairoa is cut off on all sides today, with dramatic photos from Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence revealing the inundation of the town and the challenges facing its embattled residents.

Word came out via the Starlink system, a standalone wi-fi connection that is only accessible to the Emergency Operations Centre. Civil Defence says the rest of the Wairoa District is still without access to mobile and wi-fi connections.

Due to being completely cut off, Wairoa has only one day’s worth of food and enough drinking water for two days, Civil Defence said.

The Wairoa River has flooded up to a quarter of the town.

An RNZAF reconnaissance flight was to be sent, and Emergency Response minister Kieran McAnulty said Wairoa was particularly of concern.

Aerial view of flooding in Wairoa. Photo / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence

Power, internet, phone coverage out

Thousands were left without power yesterday when a Transpower substation in Redclyffe was flooded. The company warned it could be days or even weeks before po