19/02/2023
Recently my family moved to the beautiful Hawkes Bay in New Zealand. A week ago we were told that Cyclone Gabrielle would be heading towards NZ but little did we know just how powerful & catastrophic it would be to our new area.
After a wild, wet & windy Monday night we woke up on Tuesday morning in Napier to no power or communications. Not knowing the extent of the situation we expected power & comms to be restored quickly but by the following day we were still without both. A drive around Napier showed us that there was one supermarket open as they had a generator & there was a long queue outside. People looked bewildered & confused - as you do when an entire city is without power or comms & no one knows what is happening.
We sat in our car to listen to the radio for news updates & discovered that Napier was completely cut off in all directions due to bridges being taken out.
News started to filter in that people were getting helicoptered to safety from rooftops, houses were being washed away in nearby areas & entire communities were wiped out. We realised that we were extremely lucky to be living in an area that was largely unaffected.
Some areas in Hawkes Bay are still without power & communications & transport access is completely cut off, almost a week later. Cyclone Gabrielle inflicted a path of destruction but it has been amazing to see the community come together & help random strangers - many who have lost everything they own.
The whole situation is just dire. People are traumatised & the clean up will take months & years. Kiwis are incredibly resilient though & local communities are pulling together to help those in need.
My family are feeling incredibly blessed right now & glad to be here so we can help our new community.
Kia kaha (stay strong) everyone & all my love to those who are impacted in any way.
Love Andy ❤️
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