Couple's Esk Valley home of 47 years 'absolutely munted'

Wednesday, 15 February 2023

Esk Valley resident Warwick Marshall talks about the destruction Cyclone Gabrielle caused.

Warwick Marshall is considering himself lucky to be alive after floodwaters tore through his Esk Valley home in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

“[It’s] absolutely munted. Forty-seven years of home is gone … poof'

Marshall has lived in the valley north of Napier for 71 years. He's seen a lot of bad weather in his time, but nothing comes close to the tsunami of water that funnelled through the valley on Monday night.

“As far as destruction is concerned, nothing has come anywhere near this.”

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About 130 people living in the Esk Valley have had their homes destroyed by the floodwaters caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Warwick Marshall has lost his home in the Esk Valley to raging floodwaters. But he considers himself lucky.

The surveyor and his wife Trish went to bed comfortable with the level of water on their property.

Warwick Marshall says seeing the state of his home of nearly five decades was “bloody horrible”.

But by the early hours of the morning, the house had been surrounded by a raging torrent. The water level peaked around 3m deep.

“The rate at which the water came up was incredible. We had water so high inside the house [and] outside the windows it was another three feet above that.”

Fortunately their neighbours came to the rescue and the group clambered over an archway, several roofs and used a broken gate as a ladder to get to higher ground.

He said around 130 people lived in the valley and many of the homes were now uninhabitable. One neighbour’s house was torn off its foundations and has ended up on another property entirely.

Nothing has been spared. The road, the railway line, avocado trees, wineries, and the power sub-station have been chewed up and spat out by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Some have blamed forestry slash rocketing down the valley “like a torpedo” for the damage.

He attributes much of the damage to forestry slash, that rocketed down the valley “like a torpedo”.

Napier is still largely without power, there’s extremely limited cell phone coverage and no access to fuel.

The only way in or out is by air.

Locals are complaining about a lack of communication. Officials are telling people to check websites and Facebook but very few people have internet access.

Warwick Marshall is included in that group. He has heard next to nothing since evacuating his house. They’re staying nearby with friends, and are relying on relatives to deliver supplies.

The Marshalls have had no word on when the clean-up of their corner of the world will begin. The only thing they do know, is that it won’t be quick.

“When I came down the next morning to see my house, our house, I didn’t know whether to burst into tears or to laugh. I was too numb to do either. It was bloody horrible, bloody horrible.”