For three-time flood victim Sylvine Bouchet, moving forward is about learning from the past and making changes to be more prepared for the future.
Sylvine and her son Cameron,17, have lived in the distinctive A-frame home at the beginning of Frasertown Road for five years.
While the house had flooded in the past, nothing could have prepared Sylvine for foot-high flooding from the river in Cyclone Gabrielle and then two subsequent heavy rainfall events, one two weeks after the Cyclone and another in November, which caused the house to re-flood - this time from surrounding streams and drains.
On the morning of Cyclone Gabrielle, Sylvine left for work on the south side of town and thought they had avoided the impacts of the cyclone. With communication down, once Sylvine realised the flooding was occurring, she tried to get back to North Clyde but was turned around outside Farmlands and told the main bridge and road would soon be closed. She says the worst part was being trapped on the southern side of town and unable to get to her dad and son.
“My mum Toni was away, and my dad John drives the St John bus. I could see Dad and Cameron in the bus, but I was being forced to turn around and I couldn’t get to them. Mum and Dad’s Carroll Street home completely flooded too, so Dad stayed with us in the Frasertown Road house for the next five months, living in the upstairs unaffected bedrooms.”
Sylvine said the clean-up was massive, with silt through the house and hip-high outside. “We had just about cleared the silt when the next event struck with torrential rain and another foot of flooding through the house with the Awatere Stream and nearby waterways overflowing.
“Despite two floods, we dried out, and the house was back together by mid-August with new walls, flooring, cabinetry, etc. I was just starting to enjoy the refurbished home when the November 8 rain came.” Sylvine said luckily, her cat woke her up, and now well drilled in the art of flood response, she and her son swung curtains up high and lifted everything they could off the floor.
Ankle-deep water again went through the home, with flooring and other work needing to be replaced.
“I think our biggest need is a sense of security. Wairoa people need to feel safe so that when we hear rain, we don’t become anxious that it will flood again.”
Sylvine believes that to move forward, changes need to happen, starting with a backed-up fail-proof river alert/alarm system as a warning for the whole town. “Even a phone system where we get alerts, similar to the COVID-19/Tsunami alerts.
“We also need safe meeting places where everyone knows where to go. We need to use our local knowledge. We know there are some areas that often get cut off in significant weather-related events, these are the areas where we need to check on people.
“It is great to see some post-cyclone maintenance work being carried out on local drainage schemes, but we need to ensure this continues to be recurring programmed work.”
Sylvine would have liked to have seen more support from the army. “They were here, and we needed manpower, but we didn’t seem to get the help we needed on the ground.
“There was also a lot of confusion around who needed what support and stories of people who didn’t need food and supplies receiving it and others who were in need got nothing. This is about learning so we can get it right next time. I know we couldn’t have survived without the generosity of Hinemihi Marae.
“Hinemihi, Aon Insurance, the Parthenon building team, the crew who picked up the debris from the house and the Jehovah’s witnesses who helped at Mum and Dad were all amazing, and words cannot express my gratitude for their help and kindness.”
“Even though we are nearly a year and a half after the cyclone, people are still angry and sad. Cyclone Gabrielle broke people, strong people, who you would never expect to be broken. We only need to look at the support services offered and taken up in town to know how much our community is still hurting. The impacts of the cyclone are compounding, and we all need to be empathetic and understand it is going to take time to get over. A redone house does not mitigate the trauma people and whole families have been through or are still going through as they try to rebuild. It’s going to take time to move on.”
Sylvine and her son Cameron,17, have lived in the distinctive A-frame home at the beginning of Frasertown Road for five years.
While the house had flooded in the past, nothing could have prepared Sylvine for foot-high flooding from the river in Cyclone Gabrielle and then two subsequent heavy rainfall events, one two weeks after the Cyclone and another in November, which caused the house to re-flood - this time from surrounding streams and drains.
On the morning of Cyclone Gabrielle, Sylvine left for work on the south side of town and thought they had avoided the impacts of the cyclone. With communication down, once Sylvine realised the flooding was occurring, she tried to get back to North Clyde but was turned around outside Farmlands and told the main bridge and road would soon be closed. She says the worst part was being trapped on the southern side of town and unable to get to her dad and son.
“My mum Toni was away, and my dad John drives the St John bus. I could see Dad and Cameron in the bus, but I was being forced to turn around and I couldn’t get to them. Mum and Dad’s Carroll Street home completely flooded too, so Dad stayed with us in the Frasertown Road house for the next five months, living in the upstairs unaffected bedrooms.”
Sylvine said the clean-up was massive, with silt through the house and hip-high outside. “We had just about cleared the silt when the next event struck with torrential rain and another foot of flooding through the house with the Awatere Stream and nearby waterways overflowing.
“Despite two floods, we dried out, and the house was back together by mid-August with new walls, flooring, cabinetry, etc. I was just starting to enjoy the refurbished home when the November 8 rain came.” Sylvine said luckily, her cat woke her up, and now well drilled in the art of flood response, she and her son swung curtains up high and lifted everything they could off the floor.
Ankle-deep water again went through the home, with flooring and other work needing to be replaced.
“I think our biggest need is a sense of security. Wairoa people need to feel safe so that when we hear rain, we don’t become anxious that it will flood again.”
Sylvine believes that to move forward, changes need to happen, starting with a backed-up fail-proof river alert/alarm system as a warning for the whole town. “Even a phone system where we get alerts, similar to the COVID-19/Tsunami alerts.
“We also need safe meeting places where everyone knows where to go. We need to use our local knowledge. We know there are some areas that often get cut off in significant weather-related events, these are the areas where we need to check on people.
“It is great to see some post-cyclone maintenance work being carried out on local drainage schemes, but we need to ensure this continues to be recurring programmed work.”
Sylvine would have liked to have seen more support from the army. “They were here, and we needed manpower, but we didn’t seem to get the help we needed on the ground.
“There was also a lot of confusion around who needed what support and stories of people who didn’t need food and supplies receiving it and others who were in need got nothing. This is about learning so we can get it right next time. I know we couldn’t have survived without the generosity of Hinemihi Marae.
“Hinemihi, Aon Insurance, the Parthenon building team, the crew who picked up the debris from the house and the Jehovah’s witnesses who helped at Mum and Dad were all amazing, and words cannot express my gratitude for their help and kindness.”
“Even though we are nearly a year and a half after the cyclone, people are still angry and sad. Cyclone Gabrielle broke people, strong people, who you would never expect to be broken. We only need to look at the support services offered and taken up in town to know how much our community is still hurting. The impacts of the cyclone are compounding, and we all need to be empathetic and understand it is going to take time to get over. A redone house does not mitigate the trauma people and whole families have been through or are still going through as they try to rebuild. It’s going to take time to move on.”
Three-time flood victim Sylvine Bouchet at the bridge where two streams converge near her Frasertown Road home.
The distinctive A-frame home at the beginning of Frasertown Road has had, and continues to receive, a lot of attention.