Tolaga Bay couple and four-year-old girl airlifted off roof

Monday, 4 June 2018

A rescue chopper crew help a Tolaga Bay family from their destroyed house.

A Tolaga Bay family who scrambled to the safety of their rooftop during a flash flood says they were woken by the 'jet engine' roar of the water.

The couple and their four-year-old granddaughter had climbed onto their farmhouse roof about 4am on Monday morning, and were airlifted to safety hours later.

Nina, who didn't want to give her last name, said about 3.30am her partner 'jumped up' and they could hear water slapping against the house.

It had started coming in but was only a few centimetres deep.

'All of a sudden, just after 4am, it was like a bloody jet engine, it was rumbling towards our house and it was forestry wood, logs and everything crashed into our windows.

'It was coming in and cracking … and within 10 minutes it was up to my armpits. So we had to get out.'

The East Coast knows all about the consequences of hillside clearances.

Outside, water was streaming past the house and the current was 'unbelievable'.

The couple and their granddaughter smashed through a plastic porch and climbed onto the roof of the house to escape the floodwaters.

Aerial footage shows the extent of the flooding around Tolaga Bay on the North Island's East Coast.

The trio were scared, but Nina said they had to keep it together for their granddaughter.

They managed to grab her wetsuit to wear on the roof and took up jackets, blankets and towels, and used a piece of clearlight to keep the rain off.

'To be honest, when it came 7am, I couldn't believe it … It's never flooded like this before.'

'[There was] water as far as the eye could see like a rushing, gushing lake, and just forestry slash, logs, wood everywhere.

'The woolshed's halfway into the paddock at least 50 metres. It's gone.'

The flooding washed away Nina's Nissan Murano which she only bought last week, a digger, a tractor and a trailer.

She'd seen the Murano float past as she was climbing onto the roof of the house.

Horses and foals walk through deep silt and floodwaters near Tolaga Bay.

'At least we've got our lives, eh. That's the main thing.'

They would not be able to move back into the house, it was so badly damaged.

Another cottage and farmhouse on the 1200 acre farm had been completely moved by the flood waters.

Torrential rain hammered the east coast of the North Island in the early hours of Monday.

Nina said they couldn't get back onto the property to check the livestock.

'The road is just wiped out. I'm not really sure when we'll be able to go back. Hopefully within a week, maybe two weeks.'

Tairawhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management group controller John Clarke said the family couldn't see any roads out only water when they were on the roof.

The family lost everything in the flood and were on the roof for four hours before being rescued. The girl was treated for hypothermia.

They had called the Gisborne District Council about 4am on Monday. By 4.30am they were on the roof - and then they waited.

Nina said seeing the helicopter arrive was a relief.

They were airlifted out by the Eastland Community Trust Rescue Helicopter crew.

Logs smashed through this fence and silt covers the road.

Once they'd been flown to Mangatuna, showered and had a chance to relaxed - that's when it hit them, Nina said.

'We're so grateful that we're all here because things could have changed … all our material stuff - you don't worry about that.'

They had whanau to stay with and were getting support from them and the community.

RESCUE CREW'S EFFORT

'I just hovered on top of the roof,' pilot Hamish Ramsay said. 'My crew member jumped out onto the roof and loaded them onto the helicopter.'

'When we picked them up it was still really pouring down,' Ramsay said. 'They were just cold and miserable.'

The view from the roof of the house the family was rescued from.

The family told rescuers that they had lost everything. The waters surrounding the house were full of logs pushing up against the house.

'Their woolshed was right next door and got washed away. You wouldn't have hopped off the roof. It was still very deep and very fast flowing water all around.'

He understood the family decided to climb onto the roof after a large log smashed into the side of their house.

'It would be a very frightening experience, I would imagine.'

Mangaheia Station on the east coast of the North Island was also hammered by rain.

The rain had just poured down.

'In the river mouth at Tolaga Bay there's about two hectares of pine trees all sitting out in the sea. It looks like a big island.'

Intensive care paramedic Shane Clapperton, who climbed onto the roof, said the incident was relatively straight forward. 'I gave them instructions, and they were awesome following those instructions.'

While he was on the roof his wife, Jackie, also a paramedic, was inside the helicopter helping the family on board.

The family were not wearing much clothing. 'I don't think they had enough time to grab it on the way,' Clapperton said.

By the time the helicopter reached the scene the waters had started to recede, but it had been through the house right up to the ceiling.

'There was still plenty of water around and all the logs.' It sounded as if a great number of logs had come down the flooded stream and hit the house.

The family had scrambled to the safety of the roof, and had been waiting for help since about 4am.

The house was on Mangatokerau Rd, off Paroa Rd, north of Tolaga Bay, the area worst affected by torrential rain flooding since midnight.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) group controller John Clarke said the three were reported to be safe and well now with family after the ordeal.

'The couple was wet and tired and the child is being assessed for hypothermia,' he said.

Another two households about 8km up the Tauwhareparae Rd were trapped in their homes with flooding all around, Civil Defence said.

About another 20 people had been evacuated from houses around the area and were being housed at Mangatuna Marae.

State Highway 35 at Mangatuna Rd north of Tolaga Bay was closed, but reopened on Monday afternoon.

Tairāwhiti CDEM thanked farmers who worked in 'difficult' conditions to help open local roads.

The CDEM was working with Eastland Network to ensure it had access to restore power to affected residents.

Tairāwhiti CDEM manager Louise Bennett said earlier the couple living on the Mangatokerau Rd, off Paroa Rd, believed the water was receding when a loud noise preceded another surge in the river close to their home.

'They managed to get on to the roof of their house to await assistance.'

Rivers in the Tolaga Bay area had risen rapidly since midnight. Civil Defence believe the rivers have peaked and were now receding.

The rain is also believed to have affected residents this morning at Makorori Road and Okitu.

Motorists are advised to stay home unless travel is essential, and check the roads before travel.

ROADS CLOSED

Severe flooding in paddocks near Tolaga Bay.

Whangara School, north of Gisborne, surrounded by floodwaters.

As of 1.15pm, Paroa and Mangatokerau roads at Tolaga Bay were scheduled be closed until 5pm Wednesday, with an update due midday Wednesday.

Other closed roads included Pa Road, Waiomoko, Arakihi, Kiore Road, Anaura Bay Road, Kaiaua, Waihau Bay, Glenroy and Tauwhareparae.

CDEM's journey manager Helen Harris said: 'We expect to have updates for these at noon tomorrow. We hope to have the roads open by 5pm tomorrow [Tuesday].

'The problem for us and for our contractors is that we can't do much until the floodwaters have receded. Machinery will just get stuck. We plan to open roads progressively throughout this time.

'We are equally aware that we have another downpour from later tonight. The land is inundated with rain and there is the potential for further issues including slips and road closures.'