Iwi in Whirinaki have begun the arduous cleanup process following the devastating weather events that swept through Northland last week.
The small Hokianga community bore the brunt of Tāwhirimātea, as more than 350mm of rain battered the region in just 24 hours, triggering massive flooding and severing vital road links.
MetService triggered its highest alert, a Red Rain Warning, on Wednesday, March 25. This was followed closely by a formal State of Emergency declaration from the Far North District Council mayor, Moko Tepania, the next day.
For Shane Wikaira from Te Hikutū, it was all hands on deck to look after kaumātua, kuia, and the wider public, but he says the event showed the locals’ resilience.
“Ko te iwi o te kāinga nei o Te Hikutū, he iwi pakari. Kua kite ai mātou, te kaha o te iwi ki te mahi. Koia pū te kupu, te mahi.”
“Kua pā kino nei tētahi wāhi o te whenua nei, ki kō atu, ki roto i ngā whare, kua parawhenua mea te waipuke nei.”
Prone to flooding
The Whirinaki catchment is highly vulnerable due to its landscape, where steep ranges funnel rain into a narrow valley.
Storm Tautari, director of All Out Contracting, has been on the ground with his kaimahi, leading the physical cleanup.
He says the unique shape of the land, combined with the power of the sea, created the conditions for the massive flooding.
“Because Whirinaki’s located in the flood zone, and we have all the maunga catchment up there, all the water tends to catch in our maunga, the Whirinaki Awa catchment, and it’s like a bottleneck,” Tautari says.
“As the water was coming down, the tide was coming too. So it was getting pushed up from the bottom end of the Hokianga Harbour, and it’s pushing up the harbour, and the water’s coming down from up our maunga, and it’s catching all into our valley.”
Onokia te whenua ki te kūmara, hei whāngai i te iwi
Hāunga rā te wāhi ki a Tāwhirimātea, mō te iwi nei o Te Hikutū, kei ngā māra kūmara te oranga mō te whānau, mō te hapū, mō te iwi.
Ko Paula Wikaira-Hohua o Kaimanawa Gardens, te kaingaki i ngā māra o Whirinaki, nā, ko ēnei māra nei he wāhi e hui mai ai te hapori ki te kōrero, ki te whakatō kai anō hoki.
Hei tāna, i whānau mai ngā māra kūmara nei i mua noa atu, heoi anō, i whai te wāhi nei i ētahi pūtea Kāwanatanga, i Te Tari Taiwhenua hei āwhina i te iwi ki te whakatō kūmara.
“We were fortunate enough in 2015, at the start of the CLD - Community Led Development, funding came about for Whirinaki, and several projects were put up and that came from the people.”
Call for more access to disaster relief for small communities
Green Party candidate for Te Tai Tokerau, Huhana Lyndon, has been on the ground helping communities like Whirinaki get back on their feet.
While she commends local and central government for stepping up with funding, including the Tahua Toka Tū Moana (the Mayoral Disaster Relief Fund), she believes more needs to be done.
“Ko ahau tēnei, he whanaunga. E akiaki ana, e aru haere ana i te Kāwanatanga, anō ngā minita, me te kaunihera ki te mahitahi. ki te hoatu ki te tauawhi i ēnei hapori.”
Shane Wikaira agrees with Lyndon, but knows that any initiative must be community-led.
“Te rā tōmuri mai, tuarua mai pea, kite ana au, ētahi o ngā ratonga, pērā i te Civil Defence, me te kaunihera o te takiwā. Heoi anō, ngā mea i tae tuatahi ake, ko ngā whanaunga.”
