Gabrielle Smashes The East Coast
On the East Coast Cyclone Gabrielle continued to rage as it swept through the already weather-battered communities of Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. In its wake, a trail of horror stories and destruction unlike anything New Zealand has seen this century.
As we published this story the statistics are frightening: 11 people have been confirmed dead, 1131 are yet to make contact and 10 of those have not been located.
Artist and surfer Brett Summerlee lives in Wainui, Gisborne. Thankfully his home in Wainui was okay, but he has been out in the community helping others.
“The whole community has come together to clean up and help out,” he told us. “It’s heartening but also tough to see houses filled with silt and the smell is terrible. Everything that was supposed to be underground is mixed in with the silt and floodwater.”
Brett, who teaches art at Gisborne Boys’ High School, is organising his students to help with recovery efforts.
Surfer Andy Sutherland, who lives on the coast near Wainui, is married to De-Arne. She was involved in the emergency response and the preparation.
“De-Arne hasn’t stopped or slept for four or five days,” he told us when a local Starlink service eventually came online giving him contact with the outside world.
Together with many other members of the community Andy has been going to homes to help out with the clean up – including stripping walls of sodden Gib board. That’s a task that looks widespread throughout Tairāwhiti and Te Matau-a-Māui.
