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Two firefighters, a toddler, and men and women living on the East Coast are among the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The ex-tropical cyclone ripped through the upper and eastern North Island this week, leaving a devastating path of destruction, particularly in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions.
The death toll stands at 11, with that number almost certain to rise.
Do you know more? Email blair.ensor@stuff.co.nz
Officials have grave concerns for many other people who remain unaccounted for. Those looking for friends and family can log a request via this form or contact police on 105.
READ MORE:
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Fears cyclone death toll will rise, as bodies seen floating in water
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Death in Gisborne takes Gabrielle toll to five
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Body seen in floodwaters, fears of more deaths than confirmed four
SUPPLIED/Stuff
From top left, clockwise: Dave van Zwanenberg, George Luke, Craig Stevens, Ivy Collins and Marie Greene.
This is what we know about those who’ve died so far.
One person died in Onekawa, Napier
A person was found dead in their home in the Napier suburb of Onekawa on Thursday, February 16.
On Sunday police confirmed the death and said it was believed linked to Cyclone Gabrielle.
A body found in Hastings
Police said they were investigating a death in Crownthorpe, Hastings, which was reported on Saturday, February 18.
They said on Sunday the person was believed to have died in circumstances related to the cyclone.
League stalwart George Luke
George Luke, the father of former Kiwi rugby league star Issac Luke, died in Hawke’s Bay Hospital after a car he was in was reportedly hit by a slip on the Taihape-Napier Rd in Hawke’s Bay as Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand.
Supplied
George Luke was the father of Isaac Luke.
Marie Greene
Marie Greene last spoke to her daughter Rachel about 8pm on Monday. The pair agreed she would stay inside her cottage on Dartmoor Rd in Puketapu, west of Napier, unless she was forced out by flooding.
Less than 12 hours later, the Tutaekuri River burst its bank and sent a torrent of water towards Puketapu – and Marie Greene’s home.
On Friday, Rachel Greene said she received the call she’d been dreading – her mother’s body had been found in the roof cavity of her cottage by her landlord’s son.
Greene said her mother was generous and kind and would “light up a room”.
Supplied/Stuff
Marie Greene was found dead in the roof cavity of her Puketapu home, her daughter says.
Man aged in his 70s in Waiohiki
The body of a man, aged in his 70s, was found in Waiohiki, Hawke’s Bay on Thursday. Police are yet to identify the man.
The nearby Tutaekuri River burst its banks earlier in the week, causing the bridge linking Waiohiki and Napier to wash out on Tuesday and leading to evacuations in Taradale.
John Coates
Supplied
John Coates, 64, died in floodwaters in Te Karaka.
Police announced on Thursday that a man aged in his 60s was found dead in Gisborne floodwaters on Tuesday.
On Friday, police named the man as 64-year-old farmer John Robert Dudley Coates.
Coates was a father of four and a much-loved grandfather.
Police said Coates was found in floodwaters on his Te Karaka property.
The death was not considered suspicious and would be referred to the coroner.
Woman’s body found at Bay View beach
In Napier, police found a body of a woman on the shore at Bay View on Tuesday night.
Shona Wilson
Mother-of-three Shona Wilson, aged in her late 50s, died after a bank collapsed onto her home on a farm on Matahorua Rd, Putorino on Tuesday.
A Matahorua Rd resident, communicating via Starlink Internet connected to a generator, said those living on the remote stretch of road, north of Napier, were stranded without power or phone coverage. The cyclone had hit the area hard with large slips blocking the road, and farmers had been unable to check on one another to make sure they were OK.
Ella Collins
Ivy Collins, 2, pictured with her mother, Ella, was swept away in rising floodwaters on Tuesday.
Ivy Collins, aged two
In Eksdale, Hawke’s Bay, the body of 2-year-old Ivy Collins was found on Wednesday afternoon.
Ivy’s mother, Ella Collins, described the harrowing moment her daughter was swept away in rising floodwaters on Tuesday.
“The water just came up behind me … and it just lifted Ivy off my shoulders and I went under the water. When I came up I could just see her floating away.”
Search and Rescue later found Ivy’s body two doors down from the Collins’ home.
Supplied
Dave van Zwanenberg with his wife, Amy.
Volunteer firefighters Dave van Zwanenberg and Craig Stevens
In the Auckland region, Fire and Emergency recovered the body of a missing volunteer firefighter Dave van Zwanenberg from a landslide in Muriwai on Wednesday afternoon.
Van Zwanenberg, a veterinarian, pilot and father of two, and his colleague Craig Stevens were investigating flooding in a house on Motutara Rd, when a landslide happened and the house collapsed on Monday night. Stevens was rescued, but badly injured.
Instagram/Supplied
Firefighter Craig Stevens died on Thursday after he was caught in a landslide in Muriwai on Monday.
On Thursday night, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said he’d also died. Stevens has been remembered as a “dedicated and loving husband and father”.
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