Source: Radio New Zealand
The chief chef at Hicks Bay Motor Lodge said two feet of deep silt, water and debris surrounded the motel after a large slip crashed into the back of rooms on Thursday morning.
Georgina Taiapa said water was still flowing down from a nearly 200-square-metre slip that crossed SH35 and swept down into the lodge.
Helicopters have been air-lifting help and supplies into Te Araroa and Hicks Bay today after slips and flooding cut off the East Cape community on Wednesday night.
Taiapa – who is also a member of the Hicks Bay rural fire brigade – was staying at the lodge to keep an eye on guests – and receive any local evacuees – when the slip came down at about 3am Thursday.
She moved about five guests into the lodge’s restaurant and looked after them with food and coffee until daylight.
When the sun came up, she was able to see the extent of the devastation.
Slips across SH35 above Hicks Bay Motor Lodge. Supplied
“There was just water and debris and silt everywhere, and then when I went up around the back, [and] there was just sludge and all the water running off the slip. Where the slip had come down, there were just big trees. We were quite lucky, actually,” Taiapa said.
She said the flooding in recent days was the worst she’d seen in nearly 16 years in the area.
Her own home – near the Wharekahika river – had been “flooded out” and she would be staying at the lodge until she could find somewhere to live.
Slips across SH35. Supplied
“I haven’t been able to get down here and have a look, but I’ve been sent videos of it. It is what it is.
“Just until they can sort something else with the house, but that’s going to be a long time. You’ve got to carry on. Can’t do anything about it. I’m just making sure that the guests are all safe and well, and they all get evacuated and get back where they need to get to. I’m okay.”
She said the lodge was well equipped for food for the next couple of days, and power had come back at about 1.30 pm on Friday.
The owner of the lodge, Tony Holden, said about eight rooms had been yellow stickered by the council following the slip.
Gisborne District Council said at least 90 households were cut off in the Tai Rāwhiti district, but not all would require assistance at this stage.
By midday Friday, there had been four helicopter drop-offs across the area, which had been used to deliver two building assessment teams, conduct welfare checks and move people to other locations.
Another four flights were scheduled to deliver medical supplies and food to parts of Hicks Bay and Te Araroa later in the day.
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz told RNZ on Friday morning that at least seven communities were cut off and more information would come to light about their needs during the day.
“After today, we’ll be able to know who is there. It is a small community, but still, they have real needs – especially for this weekend with no access. We have to look at their water and food needs, their electricity needs. All of that is what we will take into account today,” Stoltz said.
Gisborne District Council chief executive, Nedine Thatcher Swan, said the exact number of isolated communities – needing supplies flown in – was likely to grow as the day progressed.
The Gisborne District Council says flooding and slips have severely impacted Onepoto, Wharekahika and Te Araroa. SUPPLIED
“It’s been really hard to try and understand the number that are impacted, so that’s why we’ve got people deployed in there this morning to really get a grip up on how many,” she said.
“Speaking to our community link teams in there yesterday, they’re talking like they’re cut off from Tai Rāwhiti, but – within there – we’ve got pockets that are cut off from one another.”
Slips and unstable land could cause problems in the area for weeks to come. She was urging people to stay clear of any landslips in the district.
“Just be very, very careful. Do not go near those landslides. The ground may still be unstable – no matter how much we may think we know that area – they are unpredictable and could move without warning.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
