Good deeds and survivor guilt

The photograph of a horse stranded on the roof of a barn during the cyclone was a harrowing image beamed around the country, and shared widely on social media.

It was all the property owner could do for the beast in the worst of times, and summed up the severity and desperation of the situation.

A few days after the event, the same man who guided the horse onto the roof called in on MTA member John Clare at Kings Autos, Hastings, for a warrant of fitness.

“He has lost two cars, his house, everything and it was a brand-new house and new car and now all he has got is his old ute and the clothes he was standing up in; I could hardly charge him for a warrant,” John says.

So he waived the fee as a gesture of solidarity and support.

John was lucky to get through the event without being flooded and feels for those in the community who have lost so much.

“We just want to help wherever we can,” he says.

But a side effect of such a harrowing event is survivor guilt.

“We had a bit of a chat with staff and said, ‘Beware that you do get a bit of survivor guilt and it is a real thing’.”

Mike says he even found it tough ringing the insurance company about business interruption insurance.

“When that’s all you have to claim for, it doesn’t feel as important as what other people are going through and I know the insurance company has far more important things to be doing than dealing with me. Even though it has to be sorted it can wait ‘til another time.”

“There have been a few instances already of customers booking in their car and not turning up.”

But it was doing what you could that was important during the tough times, John says. Even though he hasn’t lost material things himself, dealing with customers who are facing big losses because of the cyclone is tough.

“People are finding it tough already and as you would expect the last thing some of them are worried about if they have been flooded out is getting their car serviced or getting a warrant; they will be putting it on the backburner,” he says.

“There have been a few instances already of customers booking in their car and then not turning up.”

Recovering from the cyclone will be lengthy, John says, and will depend on what aid the Government gives and if the supply chain can cope with the demand.

“It is going to take years to recover; you can’t just go down to Toyota and buy four new vans,” he points out.

He watched as four Dodge forklifts were unloaded across the road - they had all been flooded and will not be easily replaced.

“You can’t just go out and get new ones that easily either,” he says.