Source: Radio New Zealand
Paora Glassie, Civil Defence lead for Ōtetao Reti Marae at Punaruku on Northland’s storm-ravaged east coast. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Lessons learnt during Cyclone Gabrielle three years ago have proved invaluable for marae on Northland’s east coast, leading the response to last week’s massive storm.
Marae were the first port of call for stranded travellers and evacuated locals, as well as a source of kai and power for communities cut off from the outside world.
One of the most isolated places was Punaruku, which was cut off by flooding and a washed-out bridge to the north, and a large slip just to the south of the settlement.
Punaruku was reconnected to the nearby beachside settlement of Ōakura early on Friday afternoon. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
That meant Punaruku residents couldn’t even get to Ōakura, which also remains largely cut off but at least has a well-stocked shop.
The slip was cleared on Friday afternoon, and work to reinstate Ngaiotonga Bridge – delayed because ongoing slips stopped contractors from reaching the site – is now underway.
Paora Glassie, Civil Defence lead for Punaruku’s Ōtetao Reti Marae, said the marae had undergone a major upgrade since Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.
Paora Glassie checks a container stocked with emergency equipment for Ōtetao Reti Marae. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
That included a solar power system, an improved water supply, shipping containers stocked with emergency equipment, and even an automated weather station to keep tabs on rainfall.
Glassie said a few homes in the settlement suffered damage from te mana o te āwhā (the power of the storm), but the real challenge was the isolation.
“Just being able to get in and out was difficult. We had flooding at one end, which stopped the north end whānau from going through, and we had a slip at the south side, which stopped whānau getting necessities from the shop.”
On the first night of the storm, 60 whānau members from Auckland were in the area for a hura kōhatu (unveiling), with the gathering supposed to take place on Sunday at the Ōakura Community Hall.
The hall tables had been set, and the fridges stocked with food, when a slip smashed through the back wall of the building and filled it with mud, trees and debris.
Ōakura Community Hall was devastated by a slip the night before an unveiling was due to take place. RNZ/ Peter de Graaf
Glassie said the whānau ended up staying at the marae for two days, and were able to head home between the storm’s two peaks.
He said Punaruku had about 150 residents, including many elderly and people with serious medical conditions.
The marae had provided them with food and was compiling a list of medications to be picked up in Whangārei, which was normally a 50km or one-hour drive south.
Glassie said the marae had received great support from Ngātiwai Trust Board and the Whangārei district and Northland regional councils.
That included deliveries of food brought in over an emergency “lifeline” road cleared by council contractors in recent days.
Ōtetao Reti Marae’s “Auntie Trish”, who is also a member of the local Civil Defence group, described the rain as “horrendous”.
“Auntie Trish” is the chief dispenser of hugs for those in need of support at Ōtetao Reti Marae. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
She said marae volunteers had opened the doors to anyone who needed help, delivered food parcels and carried out welfare checks of as many people as they could.
“We’re just here to manaaki [look after] anybody who needs some supplies, or needs support and a hug. I’m really good at hugging.”
She said the marae had enough food stored in its emergency containers for the first two big meals, and after that, Ngātiwai Trust Board had delivered two big bundles of food.
“People are still coming now, because they’ve stuck, they’ve got no toilets, they’ve got no supplies because they can’t get in and out,” she said.
Work to reinstate a washed-out bridge at Ngaiotonga started on Friday, once diggers could reach the area. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
“We’re just here manning the marae for anyone who wants to come, we’ve got a warm bed, we’ve got food, and like I said, hugs.”
Whangārei primary school teacher Katerina Linton, who lives opposite the marae, said the storm did not damage her home but left her “doomy, gloomy and anxious”.
She was also upset by the damage to the community hall and for people who had lost their homes in Ōakura.
Katerina Linton said the generosity of small communities like Punaruku is “amazing”. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
She had been to the marae for a shower during the storm, but mostly she went for the whanaungatanga (kinship or connection).
“The generosity of this little community is amazing, the way everyone pulled together to help people trapped here.”
Another Punaruku resident, Maureen Hing, said locals did not sit back and wait for help to arrive.
When diggers and trucks were unable to reach the area, about a dozen young men from Punaruku and Mokau got to work clearing slips with chainsaws and shovels.
“They just wanted to get out here and check on us, and bring things over for the marae.”
The young men cleared enough of the slips to create a four-wheel-drive track over the top.
A digger finished the job on Friday.
Paora Glassie said summer downpours were not unusual in Punaruku, but he believed climate change was making storms more intense.
“I don’t [know] what the answer will be to that, but I suppose making sure each marae and each community has a Civil Defence readiness plan in place, and they have the basic essentials ready, like generators and fuel, for whatever the weather throws at us,” he said.
“It also means we all must come together as a unit so we can overcome this challenge, and get ready for the next event … It might be next year, next month, or next week.”
Punaruku recorded the heaviest rainfall in Northland during the storm.
Regional council figures show intensities of about 80mm an hour between 3am and 5am on Sunday, 18 January.
On average, most places in Northland get around 80mm of rain during the entire month of January.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
