Cyclone Gabrielle - Te Karaka

“We haven’t just lost a couple of houses; we’ve lost streets of homes.” That was part of a heart-rending account of cyclone-devastated Te Karaka personally delivered to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins during his visit to the township yesterday. http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/video   / videos      / gisborneherald   The river moved so quickly, Te Karaka resident Marie Malone told Mr Hipkins. She hailed the efforts of emergency workers. “Civil Defence and the local fire brigade — they saved our lives.” Many were now homeless and they had “lost part of our community”. Referring to the death of a Te Karaka man in the floodwaters, she publicly offered her condolences to “our whanau who lost a loved one”. That was “really sad” but there had also been laughter in the community. “We are in it together, like everybody else. “We also feel aroha for all of those in Napier, Wairoa and everywhere else . . . we know families are struggling everywhere just like us.” She thanked the Prime Minister “so much for coming to our little town, knowing full well that our whole country is going to be in a state of need”. “Thank you for having us,” Mr Hipkins replied. Minister of Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty told Ms Malone it took courage to tell her story to the Prime Minister before the country’s media,. Ms Malone told him about Monday night-Tuesday morning when up to 500 people rushed from their homes to safety on nearby hills. After that night everybody knew everybody, she said. “Now when you drive past someone, it’s ‘how are you?’ “Good things happen and that’s one of them.” East Coast MP and Cabinet minister Kiri Allan introduced Robert Winiata as a man who had lost his house twice — to Cyclone Gabrielle and to Cyclone Bola in 1988. Filmed and Edited by Ben Cowper SUBSCRIBE! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...