Group photo of all the recipients. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
On the evening before the Esk River burst its banks, Hukarere Girls' College hostel manager Amelia Kaui went down to check on the river.
It was something she always did in bad weather, and seeing it was high, she made the call - three staff and 48 girls were evacuated.
"We took the first load to Pukemokimoki Marae, and then we returned for the remainder and the last staff member, and we were all tucked in bed by just after midnight."
Hours later, the school was wiped out by floodwaters - Kaui said the news was devastating.
On Thursday evening, Kaui was one of 28 people and seven organisations honoured for their actions during Cyclone Gabrielle and in the aftermath, at the Napier War Memorial Centre in Napier.
Amelia Kaui with her students. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
Normally the Civic Awards, this year the ceremony became the Cyclone Gabrielle Recognition Awards, hosted by the Napier City Council, with nominees put forward by other members of the public.
The winners pulled off jet boat rescues in the early hours, fed and housed their displaced neighbours, or became staunch advocates for mental health.
Whirinaki plumber Todd Smith was instrumental in evacuating neighbours during the flood.
"Just helping out other families, friends down the road, just helping them get out of their houses with their kids, getting them up to my parents' house. We had 20-plus people in our house, I'd say - dogs and all."
In the weeks that followed, he reconnected the pipes for half his neighbourhood, ensuring people had working septic tanks and flushing toilets.
But how did he feel about being recognised with an award?
"It's just humbling and nice to be recognised, I guess," he said. "But it wasn't about that. It was just about looking after friends, and people down the street, and community basically."
This turned out to be a recurring sentiment. Those being honoured were almost embarrassed by it, saying anyone would have done the same.
Neeracha Rattanaworametha, better known as Neela Neela, had made more than 100,000 meals for people who needed them in the past seven months.
Neela Neela with mayor Kirsten Wise. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
During their busiest period, right after the cyclone, her team was making up to 1000 a day. Now they have dropped down to a not inconsiderable 250, but for Neela, it didn't feel enough.
"I don't think I do enough. If I can do more, it's... better for me," she said.
Also on the list of cyclone heroes were Bill and Gabriella Henderson. Their Waiohiki home was the highest point in the neighbourhood, and at one point, they had 48 people in the house.
Most stayed only a few days, others stayed a month.
"I got a big surprise," Bill said. "I went to help neighbours to come to our place, but it was probably about three hours later by the time I was able to get back to our home, and I walked in and there were all these people sitting around - I wasn't expecting to see that many."
Gabriella and Bill Henderson. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
They, too, had a hard time seeing themselves as heroes.
"When you have an opportunity to step up and help people, you don't think about anything like that, so to get an award for it seems a little bit, you know... I don't know... humbling," Gabriella said.
"We did what I think anyone else would have done in the same situation," Bill said. "I think the heroes were the ones that saved themselves."
But for many, these people were the difference between clinging to a rooftop and finding solid ground, going hungry, or finding a meal and dry clothes.
The work continued, but amid the buyouts and the funding battles and the ongoing silt removal, the evening was a chance to look back and to say 'thank you'.
