Wairoa residents still distrust council a year after devastating flood

RNZ News

3 days ago

A year on from the devastating Wairoa flood, residents still fear for their lives when it rains.
When the Wairoa River burst its banks on 26 June, 2024 it tore through more than 400 properties, causing $40 million of damage.
The resilient rural community has rallied hard
over the past 12 months
, but the emotional toll of that awful day still lingers for many.
Marie Tuahine was one of many who fled for their lives in the early hours of the morning.
"It was quite traumatising. The panic of trying to get out and get the babies out, they had to be carried out because they would have drowned... the water was quite swift coming through here."
Photo:
Calvin Samuel
Locals blame Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC) for not opening a channel in the Wairoa river bar earlier, so the deluge
could flow out to sea more easily
. Instead, the swollen river could not empty itself into the ocean quickly enough and smothered the southern part of town.
"I've been here over 50 years in this house and never seen anything like it before, and it's scary as, I mean, I could put up with an earthquake, but I couldn't put up with that," Tuahine said.
An
independent review
of the flood later found the regional council lacked a plan and did not listen to locals. One of the report's conclusions was that if the crest of the river bar had been lowered, then the flooding may not have been as bad.
Photo:
Nick Monro
People were only evacuated in time because
an official was woken by her baby
.
The nightmare of Tuahine and her family's narrow escape still lingers, and when it rains the memories come flooding back.
"I get quite emotional just talking about it because, you know, it all just comes back and you don't know. Every time it rains, you think, 'Oh God, have they opened the bar?' Because you just don't want this to happen again. I don't wish it on anybody."
Rain events make her nervous, because she did not trust that the regional council had learned from its mistakes.
"I don't have a lot of faith in the regional council, I think they're just all talk. They obviously don't give a shit about us because we've got our mayor, who's been fighting for us all the way, and we really appreciate that."
Marie Tuahine's house in the Wairoa flood of June 2024.
Photo:
Supplied
HBRC told RNZ it understood the event would have had lasting effects on people, and was working hard to rebuild that trust.
The council said it had a new river management plan in place, and was also looking at options to protect the south side of Wairoa, which could include a more permanent positioning of the river mouth.
"HBRC would welcome Crown input on where funding might come from for such a multimillion-dollar proposal," it said in a statement.
The area of North Clyde had a $70m flood protection project underway, after it flooded in Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. However, Wairoa Mayor Craig Little wanted to also see protection for southern residents, and was hoping HBRC would build a groyne in the river to help guide it out.
"So once we get that, then the people on this side, the south side, can actually know that the mouth is always open," he said.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell and Wairoa mayor Craig Little giving an update on the situation in Wairoa in June 2024.
Photo:
RNZ / Calvin Samuel
The mayor had written to HBRC, urging it not to be complacent.
"We've still got a lot of work to do, don't think 'okay, that's behind us, we will move on now'. Everyone lives that every day in Wairoa. We've got to make sure it still stays up here so we never forget."
Marie Tuahine's house in the Wairoa flood of June 2024.
Photo:
Supplied
It was difficult for the town to move on when so many were still struggling to rebuild, with 83 homes yellow-stickered as many residents were uninsured and could not afford repairs.
When RNZ visited Tuahine she was pleased to be back in her newly rebuilt home and was grateful she had insurance to cover the cost.
However, her yard and driveway was still a mess from the flood, and the pensioner worried about how she would find the money to fix it.
"Not only am I out of pocket, but the stress of it all - I'm trying to clean up on my own and not getting far.
"A year on and I have a hell of a long way to go."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.