COPING WITH THE CYCLONE

Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall in New Zealand on February 12, but with good preparation and emergency measures in place the Ryman villages in its path weathered the storm.

Princess Alexandra in Napier, James Wattie in Havelock North and Kiri Te Kanawa in Gisborne all lost power and the emergency generators kicked in. The village teams did an extraordinary job to keep our residents safe and well.

Early that Tuesday morning, all communication into the Gisborne region was lost and roads were closed.

On Wednesday 15 February, with the region cut-off, Christchurch-based Construction Manager

Tom Brownrigg and National Facilities Manager

Tracey McCullough embarked on a four-hour helicopter trip north.

Armed with satellite phones and extra supplies, the pair touched down in the paddock next door to Kiri Te Kanawa and put the phones to work quickly, connecting the Village Manager, Penny Forrester with General Manager of NZ Operations, Liz Dilger.

Further south at Princess Alexandra in Napier and James

Wattie in Havelock North the villages came through the cyclone well with no need to evacuate residents, but plenty of challenges.

Princess Alexandra was operating on the emergency generator for five days, the team and residents supported each other, and showed typical Ryman kindness and resilience while more staff and supplies were being flown in. The infrastructure is fragile across the entire region and could cause problems for many months ahead.

Down the road in Havelock North, supplies were also flown in, and they had power restored after nearly two days running on their emergency generator.

Our teams rallied around, with Tom and Tracey not being our only adventurous travellers making the trip. Regional Operations Manager Arthur Keane made it through the storm to deliver supplies to James Wattie in a two-day drive and New Zealand Sales Manager Bernadette Forsdyke made a dash from the Kapiti Coast to Havelock North to pitch in.

When the call went out for help, many team members from villages across New Zealand put their hand up to leave their own homes and families to support our Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne villages, with some staying on for a week or more.

Our residents have heaped praise on their village teams for keeping them safe and well through the storm, in addition to what they were facing in their own homes.

Kiri Te Kanawa resident, Alison McKay was full of gratitude when she said, “they worked through no matter what was happening at home for them which I think is extraordinary.”

As the adage goes ‘it takes a village’ and while schools were closed across the region, village centres saw a younger generation filling their walls. Children of our devoted team members were welcomed, with activities and entertainment provided while their parents continued to provide care that is good enough for mum, or dad.

The effects of Gabrielle continue to hinder day-to-day life for many, but the safe havens our villages provide mean life for our residents continues (mostly) as normal.

Pictured top: National Facilities Manager Tracey McCullough and Construction Manager Tom Brownrigg.

Pictured middle and bottom: Kiri Te Kanawa residents line up for water in order to flush their toilets after water restrictions hit the region.