Storm Harrison and Davey Forbes. Photo: NZDF / supplied
An Army Reserve Force soldier says rescuing people trapped on rooftops in Esk Valley during Cyclone Gabrielle is something he will never forget.
Napier local Corporal Storm Harrison was one of the first two New Zealand Defence Force personnel to help Esk Valley residents while the storm battered Hawke's Bay.
Alongside him was Staff Sergeant Davey Forbes, a fellow member of the 5/7 Battalion Royal NZ Infantry Regiment - reserves based on the East Coast.
Before the cyclone hit, Forbes was appointed controller of NZDF resources for the Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups in Hawke's Bay.
In the early hours of Tuesday, 14 February, Harrison and Forbes raced into Esk Valley in a Unimog truck with two firefighters and two police officers, after news a river had burst its banks in Esk Valley.
"We said, 'We have got to go, people are screaming for help, we can hear them screaming from the rooftops,'" said Harrison.
When they made it to Eskdale School, they discovered around 20 carloads of people who were safe but stranded there.
They tried to drive to reach people trapped in their homes, but floodwater began gushing into the Unimog cab and the crew made the difficult decision to go back.
"The water was too high, it was running too fast and water was coming up to the mog windscreen, and then it started to fill the cab and we were starting to get pushed with the current," said Forbes. "We reversed back up. It was very frustrating to feel like we had failed."
Photo: RNZ/ Sally Murphy
Eventually, surf life savers and locals with jet boats joined the rescue effort. Harrison and Forbes transported those stranded at Eskdale School to safety in Bay View.
Forbes started coordinating the on-the-ground response, working with a reconnaissance team from Linton Military Camp, Police, and Fire and Emergency, and setting up an NZDF base at Hastings Police Station.
As the sun rose, Harrison saw a woman and two children sheltering on their roof and was able to save them.
"They had been up there since midnight, and by this time it was 10am… We had a quick chat as we got them into the truck and she said, 'Thanks for coming, I thought we were over but as soon as I saw the Unimog turn up we knew we were alright.' That was a good feeling."
The water level began to recede, revealing the extent of the devastation. Wading through chest-high water and breaking down doors, Harrison and others spent a long time checking houses.
"You don't really think about what's on the other side of that door, you usually clear rooms with weapons, but this time you're breaking doors to search for people. But the motivation was, this is in our town, this is our home, these are our people we know. So that's what kept us moving."
Being Napier locals, the experience was personal for both men.
Forbes said, "I feel I had a lot of skin in the game. It's our home, it's our people, all you want to do is the best for them."
Harrison estimated crews rescued around a dozen people before Regular Force personnel arrived to help coordinate efforts and begin trying to reach isolated communities around Puketapu and Rissington.
