“What really struck me after Cyclone Gabrielle,” she told Hawke’s Bay Today, “is that there simply aren’t enough emergency services to get to everyone. “And even if there were – they couldn’t reach people.”At Eskdale School, about half of the current roll of about 300 were at the school when Cyclone Gabrielle hit less than a fortnight into a new school year. George Tawhai, who spent weeks living in his car after Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed his home in the isolated valley of Aropaoanui, is still rebuilding more than three years on. George Tawhai pictured in the isolated valley of Aroapoanui after Cyclone Gabrielle. Despite the approaching Cyclone Vaianu, Tawhai said he was not overly concerned.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 11, 2026 20:28 UTC