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Seasonal workers from the Pacific Islands workers in flooded areas of Meeanee and Taradale in Hawke’s Bay had to leave with just the shirts on their backs on Tuesday, with some having to be rescued from the roof of a building.
Forty-two rescued workers here on the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme were taken to EFKS Church in Flaxmere where they stayed overnight.
Reverend Sunita Nua said they were happy to be a Civil Defence accommodation centre in a time of need.
“We are so grateful to be able to look after our people, particularly the RSE workers from the islands.”
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“I heard that they had no clothes, no food — everything’s gone.” Church members rallied around clearing the buildings and bringing supplies.
The church was going to host another 40 or so evacuees. Nua said the workers were from Samoa, Tonga, Tokelau and Tuvalu.
Piers Fuller/Stuff
Pictured, Rev Sunita Nua (second from left) hosted evacuated RSE workers such as Lotinuu, Semau, and Lotomau at the EFKS Church hall.
“They said the water came up to their knees they managed to walk away to the high side of their site, but they could see the water still rising so they left.”
Another group of evacuees, Garry Crawford and his family, were in a group of 60 people rescued by Defence Force unimogs in Hawke’s Bay on Wednesday morning.
The group was picked up from Waiohiki Marae in one of the townships flooded when the Ngaruroro and Tutaekuri rivers burst their banks in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The family was left waiting on the footpath outside the Hastings Sports Complex evacuation centre at midday on Wednesday not knowing what had happened to whānau in Wairoa to the north.
Crawford said water started coming into their Waiohiki house at 5am on Tuesday morning.
“We woke up and realised the water was already over the steps.”
He said the floods got up to about chest height on the roads outside the house.
They took refuge in the marae along with many other people from the community.
He said there were some helicopter evacuations of the elderly and injured from marae on Tuesday and army were able to drive in on Wednesday morning.
Brennan Thomas
Aerial video shows the extent of the flooding in Gisborne, with a big clean up ahead.
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