TE NUPEPA O TE TAIRAWHITI TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021 HOME-DELIVERED $1.90, RETAIL $2.20 CLEANING UP THE MESS: Tokomaru Bay’s Megan Williams stands in the flood-devastated yard of her home. Chickens and a cat took refuge from the floodwaters on the trampoline behind her while guinea pigs were rescued after furiously paddling to keep their heads above water. Picture by Paul Rickard SEE PAGES 2-4 ‘HEART-BREAKING’ Tairawhiti support ‘awesome’ as clean-up continues by Alice Angeloni and in mud and silt. Windows were broken. properties. Fulton Hogan was on the ground Sophie Rishworth A mark showed the floodwater was Four families were unable to return today blowing out blocked culverts on lapping at the feet of her La-Z-Boy home, Ms Ward said. Arthur Street and Waiotu Street, she VICTIMS of the flash flood that recliner. Carpenters would start remedial said. hit Tokomaru Bay on Sunday are The bathroom had just been work at Hatea a Rangi School today. “Then hopefully they will get to the grappling with the reality of the clean- renovated but the lino would have to About 30 students were learning other issues up Mangahauini Valley.” up. be pulled out, she said. from home this week. Kevin Pewhairangi was helping with Tokomaru Bay resident Sandra “It is absolutely mud right through,” An electrician checked wiring in the the clean-up of his grandmother Ms Coleman said she was devastated. she said, as she showed The Herald worst-damaged homes free of charge Coleman’s property yesterday. “It’s heartbreaking,” she told The around the property on Monday. “Don’t yesterday. “We inherited a big tree that came Gisborne Herald this morning. “We’re slip.” More than 150 volunteers were at down the river and it pummelled our just getting everything out of the The community weathered more rain Tokomaru Bay Sports Club yesterday, shed, which is a bit sad,” he said. “It’s house. We’ve lost so much, just so last night but with no further flooding, which became the coordination point just about moving that tree now and much.” Civil Defence and Gisborne District for the community. then working on the silt.” Ms Coleman was in Gisborne over Council northern area liaison officer “When I walked into the club I just All their fencelines were also gone. the weekend but was sent a photo of Lillian Ward said. wanted to cry with so many people “I’ve never seen my grandmother’s her house stranded in flood waters. “We did a drive around this morning there, and they were all smiling and so land like this. This house has been “I had to really look at it. I couldn’t and no water levels got into homes like optimistic,” Ms Ward said. through hundreds of cyclones but not a believe it was my house and then I on Sunday,” she said. “The whole of Tairawhiti is awesome. flash flood like this. realised it was.” Wind and rain today meant the The words of support really pick us She returned home to find it caked focus was on clearing inside damaged up.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FIND IT LEARN IT ENROL BE IT FULL-TIME • PART-TIME • ONLINE NOW START DESIGN IT JULY 2021 eit.ac.nz | 0800 22 55 348 EIT SCHOOL OF COMPUTING 38587-04 GISBORNE RUATORIA WAIROA Local News ...... 1-4 Business ............11 Picture page ......20 Racing ................23 Births & Deaths ...4 Opinion ..............12 Classifieds .........21 Sport ............ 24-28 9 771170 043005 TOMORROW National .......... 6-10 World....... 13,17-18 Television ...........22 Weather .............27 > 2 NEWS The Gisborne Herald • Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Rain double-edged sword for region’s farmers by Murray Robertson well when culverts became blocked or could “There are also low-lying areas that are now “For most farmers, lambing and calving are not handle the intense deluge. covered with silt and debris that may further still a month to six weeks away. THE heavy rain caused a lot of clean-up “The repairs required are generally able exacerbate the feed situation. “An event like this happening then would be work for farms in the region but other farmers to be taken care of under normal farm “Luckily this was a short, sharp event, with catastrophic. experiencing dry winter conditions welcomed maintenance, but there will be exceptions, and the water receding almost as quickly as it came “For most drought-affected farmers in our the wet weather. Tokomaru Bay township is one of them.” up, thus helping to limit the damage. region, the rain was very welcome,” Mr Williams Federated Farmers provincial president Toby Mr Williams said feed-wise, rain like this did “It has helped to fill dams and reservoirs, said. Williams said the rain washed away fences and not do much for grass growth. which have been running critically low.” “Hopefully it signifies the drought is ending floodgates on farms in the worst-affected and “Those farms that were already under feed Mr Williams said while no one wanted this and with us being on the downhill slide to low-lying areas of the East Coast. stress may find it more difficult to feed out much rain at once, it could not have come at a summer, now the shortest day has passed, a “Tracks and roads have been washed out as supplements. better time in terms of the farming calendar. return to more normal weather patterns.” AFTER THE FLOODING: Hine Coleman with furniture and other household items stacked up outside her mother Sandra’s flooded home at Tokomaru Bay. Picture by Paul Rickard FLOOD-STRICKEN: Tokomaru Bay resident Sandra Coleman was in Gisborne over the weekend but was sent a photo of her house stranded in floodwaters. She returned to find the property and house covered in mud and silt. A mark showed the water was lapping at the feet of her La-Z-Boy recliner. Picture supplied ‘It’s going to get worse’ FROM PAGE 1 but her house perched on a hill “What we had is pretty much got away unscathed. signalling what we’re going to get “Luckily for us, we’ve got this She and partner Pine Campbell now,” Mr Campbell said. amazing township and it’s all believed they would face weather Civil Defence and emergency kicked in. After this we’ll probably events like this more often. manager Ben Green said the go and contribute where we can.” “Our systems need to change to council’s environment team were A parked car was lifted by the cope with climate change. We’re scanning the area today to check floodwaters and carried about 50 going to get more of this. We’re people’s septic tanks. metres, he said. going to get more drought. It’s just They were also providing solid “If it wasn’t for the feijoa trees going to get worse. It’s going to waste removal from people’s and these tanks it would have continue. homes. been in the river or down on the “We need a system to help us The fine patch of weather beach somewhere.” with things like this. How are we yesterday meant teams could He was a child when Cyclone going to deal with the water? Why get stuck in and despite the bad Bola hit in 1988, but the is the water like this? What’s weather today there was still a riverbank wasn’t flooded on that happened to the land further high level of activity in Tokomaru occasion, he said. upstream that’s not holding the Bay and around the wider Coast, “This is a first for this street. water? Drainage, trees, farming,” Mr Green said. The bank usually protects us but she said. Waka Kotahi continues to not this time.” “It’s not just here, it’s what’s urge caution to drivers on State CLASSROOM CLEAN-UP: Hatea a Rangi School principal Karla Rohatai Pewhairangi said further up there inland and, of Highway 35, which is closed by Kohatu described the flooding as “diabolical” but was full of her garage was flooded and the course, the climate. Everything’s Potaka at the intersection with praise for the way the community has rallied around to help clean drainage system was overwhelmed changed.” Lottin Point Road. up. Picture by Paul Rickard LOOKING AHEAD Get your FOCUS ON THE LAND Gisborne Herald • The Tairawhiti-Gisborne Young Grower competition is back on early next home-delivered month and the call has gone out for entrants. • We meet the Innovation Award winners from the national Fieldays at Mystery Creek last week. • The weekly AgriHQ report for the week beginning June 21. THE GUIDE TOMORROw THuRSdAy The Gisborne Herald, 64 Gladstone Road, P.O. Box 1143, Gisborne • Phone (06) 869 0600 • Fax (Editorial) (06) 869 0643 (Advertising) (06) 869 0644 Editor: Jeremy Muir • Chief Reporter: Andrew Ashton • Circulation: Cara Haines • Sports: Jack Malcolm/John Gillies To fi nd out more call 869 0620 e-mail: [email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected] • web site: www.gisborneherald.co.nz The Gisborne Herald • Tuesday, June 22, 2021 NEWS 3 Southerly change dumps rain in Wairoa, Whareratas A SWITCH to southerly weather has dumped more rain on the district but mostly in the Wairoa-Wharerata part of the region. In the 24 hours up to 9am today, Te Puia received another 32 millimetres of rain, but the heaviest falls were to the south of Gisborne. Rivers and streams in the Wairoa catchment rose rapidly but not to alarm levels. Locally, Panikau recorded 68.5mm, the gauge at Mangapoike Reservoir measured 59.5 and 47.4mm was recorded at the Monowai Bridge gauge on the Waimata River.