MASTER PLUMBERS’ SUPPORT

In response to the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, Master Plumbers has been coordinating requests for assistance from affected members and offers of help from other members from its national office in Wellington.

Master Plumbers also set up a Givealittle page to help affected members get back on their feet.

In the immediate aftermath, the most urgent need was for generators to restore essential services, such as water supplies and septic tanks. At least two members had lost their own homes and suffered damage to their businesses— and the recovery effort will take many months, if not years.

Master Plumbers kickstarted the Givealittle page with a $10,000 donation, which was soon matched by $10,000 pledged with incredible generosity by Marley New Zealand. Donations also came in from various Master Plumbers branches and associations, together raising $23,000.

Other generous individual donations flowed in to help members with resources, necessities and disaster recovery aid for their businesses—with a total of more than $56,000 raised by the end of March. A huge thanks to everyone for their fantastic support.

Members of the Master Plumbers national office team, including CEO Greg Wallace and Wellbeing Guy Kereama Karmody, met with members in Hawke’s Bay at the end of March, and were set to do the same in other cyclone-hit regions over the following months to discuss members’ needs and provide wellbeing support.

NZ’S WORST WEATHER EVENT IN A CENTURY

Few weather events are as terrifying or as powerful as a tropical cyclone, said MetService in March as it summed up the Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle event, which began in the Coral Sea on 8 February.

According to MetService, between 12 and 14 of February, parts of Aotearoa New Zealand recorded rainfall amounts of 300-400mm, wind gusts of 130-140km/h and waves were recorded as high as 11 metres along some of our coasts. The official death toll now stands at 11.

army engineered a temporary bridge at Rissington,” says Grayson. “Their community have lost roads, buildings and stock and the massive clean up will take years. Dairy farmers are being told that, because of the lack of road access, they must dry off their herds and stop milking for the season, which is leaving them without an income.”

Insurance assessment work

For plumbing businesses in all cyclone hit regions, there is a huge amount of repair and replacement work to be done but it is not likely to get fully underway until insurers have completed property assessments.

By mid-March, clients were starting to ask plumbers to price up repair work for insurance assessments. It can be hard even to get under the house to see what’s needed, says Grayson. “Labourers who’ve come in from out of town are having to lie in the mud, shovelling out silt from under houses, so services can be accessed.

“For the first week after the cyclone, the focus was on volunteering to help with the basics— helping anyone needing to shut down their water or gas, making sure everything was safe, putting in temporary gas hot water systems, and getting temporary power back for priority water and sewage services.

“Plumbers also volunteered their digger, truck and excavator services, and associated fuel costs, to help out with the silt clear-up. Plus, many businesses gave their own employees special leave to sort out damage to theirs and others properties.

“Two Master Plumbers member businesses have lost their own homes to flooding, and another has massive silt and infrastructure damage. They are living with friends and family or in temporary accommodation. They’re feeling shellshocked and have been spending 24/7 talking to insurance assessors and shovelling silt.”

Will roads be cleared only

damaged again because of their vulnerable location?

Can properties be rebuilt in obvious flood zones?

Grayson says his sons Reuben and Tom joined him in helping with the general clean up of silt and rotting produce. “There were onions, apples, kumera and watermelons everywhere,” he recalls. “Reuben was pulling watermelons out of a four foot high hedge—it was quite surreal.”

Meanwhile, Grayson’s wife Cherie, unable to drive to her Napier workplace, volunteered for a week at the regional distribution hub in Hastings, helping load supplied produce and other donations onto pallets.

Adrenaline to anxiety

People’s needs are changing week by week in the regions, as the full impacts of the cyclone become clearer, says Grayson. With the initial adrenaline rush gone, many are feeling stressed, anxious, emotionally drained and in need of wellbeing support. There’s concern among residents in affected communities that, with the cyclone dropping off media headlines, they will be forgotten about.

There’s also the big question mark over what happens next. Will roads be cleared only to be damaged again because of their vulnerable location? Can properties be rebuilt in obvious flood zones?

“Some wonder if the Queenslander-style home is the way of the future for flood-prone areas,” says Grayson. “But even they won’t cope when a 40ft container comes bowling through like a piece of Lego in a torrent of logs and debris. This cyclone was strong enough for tractors to roll and diggers to tumble.”

All Hands To The Pump

Grayson Allen of Peak Plumbing in Havelock North is extremely grateful to fellow Master Plumbers’ business Straight Flush Plumbing, based in Wellington. Ngaire and Jeremy Mansfield of Straight Flush made two trips with trailer loads of generators, power leads and boards, plug boxes, fuel cans, water bottles and a drain jetter.

Jeremy spent the first weekend helping Grayson assist the local community with power, hot water and gas repairs. Other flood-related plumbing work included pumping out septic systems, replacing pumps/air blowers, flushing silt from drains, replacing gas hot water units and stripping out bathroom fittings, so floors could be lifted and wall linings removed to allow the framing to dry.

McBeth Plumbing in Taupo also rallied to help, coordinating with the regional Civil Defence to provide portable shower units for use by communities doing it tough. Deliveries were made to Eskdale School, Tāngōio Marae and the Whirinaki Road community, among others.

The off-grid shower units run on gas and solar and are totally self-sufficient. They can be supplied with a 1000L tank for water supply and are made from two stacked IBC tanks.

“The response was immense, emotional and very humbling, so we know that a hot shower is a much needed ‘luxury’,” said Nina Andrews of McBeth’s. “Aside from the obvious sanitation, we know the mental restoration a shower can provide to these struggling communities.

“Not only have we received incredible support, but we must also thank the Laser Plumbing Taupō team and our own team for donating their time to this project. You are all legends, and we are so grateful.”

With Hawke’s Bay merchants running low on essential equipment directly after the cyclone, Ngaire and Jeremy Mansfield of Straight Flush Plumbing decided to help out with urgent plumbing work by stocking up and making two trips from Wellington to Hawke’s Bay.