Trust in council wanes, iwi takes lead in Te Karaka’s emergency preparedness

Iwi at Te Karaka are looking after the township, saying they have lost trust in the Gisborne District Council-led Civil Defence Emergency (CDEM)management because of how it managed the response to Cyclone Gabrielle in February.

The community and iwi leadership are doing all they can to be prepared and help the people.

Te Aitanga a Māhaki is the iwi of the Te Karaka area.

A precautionary approach has been taken by Te Aitanga a Māhaki through the severe weather. Since early Monday the response team has been monitoring river levels and sending regular updates to the community.

“We are as ready as we can be,” said Te Karaka Area School board chair, Pimia Wehi

On Thursday, Māhaki Tiaki Tangata encouraged the community to self evacuate when the Waipaoa River reached 6.5m.

Then at 1:14pm, the decision was made to evacuate everybody.

Those who did not have alternative accommodation went to Te Poho o Rawiri Marae in Kaiti and if whānau did not make it into Turanga Gisborne then the area school at Te Karaka  was available.

More than 150 people had moved into town and contacted the team directly or via social media to let them know they had moved.

Seven others stayed at the TKAS with three of the team remaining onsite to monitor levels throughout the night. 

They included Tuhi and Pauline Ruru from Takipu Marae just south of Te Karaka. Back in February, they thought someone was knocking on the door, only to open it  and find themselves inundated.

On Wednesday night other whānau went to Cookson’s Knoll, an area where over 100 people gathered in February during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Willie Te Aho is the lead negotiator for Te Aitanga a Māhaki, and has also been leading an initiative for  temporary housing for Māori from Pōtaka to Mōhaka, including the wider Te Karaka community, since Cyclone Gabrielle.

He has previously spoken out against the GDC CDEM.

He said he had tried to call the CDEM group controller David Wilson, but he did not answer, so Te Aho sent him a text message telling him what was happening.

Mr Wilson replied: “Ka pai understand CDEM is talking to Dave P and the team out there they are working on alerts and comms together.”

A Gisborne District Council spokesperson said Te Karaka residents who are signed up to receive flood warnings via text, were sent an e-text warning at 1.03pm yesterday asking them to prepare for an evacuation. Another e-text was sent at 1.46pm asking Te Karaka to evacuate “now”.

An Emergency Management Alert (EMA) was also sent in conjunction with the e-text for evacuation. The EMA connects to all cell phones in the Te Karaka catchment. This targeted delivery ensures all cell users get the message.

“The focus is on the readiness and the safety of our community ahead of tonight.”

Te Aho said it was “normal” for Gisborne District Council not to take his calls or call him back.

“You know when a phone is ringing and not being answered, as opposed to engaged or someone is on a call. But the key point is that at 1.14pm the Gisborne District Council knew the approach being taken by the iwi leadership for Te Karaka whānau.”

Te Aho does not mince his words about the GDC.

“Mayor Rehette Stoltz need to shut up when it comes to whānau in Te Karaka,” he said.

“She doesn’t know our Te Karaka whānau but gives the media and the nation the impression (on RNZ Checkpoint) that she does. She is misleading the public like she did in February 2023 when she said our whānau were fine.”

Te Aho said that it was more important for the GDC to appear as if they were in control than to actually know what was happening on the ground.

“The GDC and CDEM failed our whānau during Cyclone Gabrielle. They were on track to fail us again. We won’t let that happen,” said Te Aho.

In Febuary, when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Tairāwhiti, hundreds of people living in Te Karaka left their homes in the early hours of the morning to find higher ground.

For two days people were without communication and supplies, with many staying on Cranswick Hill.

Te Aho said that Mayor Stoltz  may be able to comment on other areas but not whānau in Te Karaka.

He said the people for media to talk to were area school board acting chair, Pimia Wehi, and Dave Pikia, who was a part of and saw the “failures” of Civil Defence Emergency Management in February.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not on a witch hunt,” Te Aho said. “(I’m) too busy. I see Rehette, greet her and talk with her when I see her. There is no animosity.

“I honestly think that the GDC failed and continues to fail our Te Karaka whānau. I won’t tolerate that. Nor will I tolerate spin.”

The trauma from February is still fresh in the minds of Te Karaka whānau.

“Civil Defence Emergency Management failed whānau in Te Karaka in February 2023.  They have failed to learn from their mistakes. We will not let them fail us again,” said Te Aho.

It was calm yersterday morning but more rain was expected overnight and the view of Te Aitanga a Māhaki is that it is better to be safe than sorry.

Along with the rain, there remains the threat of slash and woody debris moving along the rivers.

“Despite government promises to deal with the 32,000 cubic metres of slash/debris, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Ngāti Porou and Ngai Tāmanuhiri committed $2m to remove the critical slash that is build up and which farmers moved to the rivers edge.”

Mayor Stoltz declared a State of Emergency at 4:45pm on Thursday. It will be in place for seven days.

“This gives our whānau and community a chance to self-evacuate and make preparations to ensure they are self-sufficient for at least the next three days,” she said.

The declaration gives Tairāwhiti Civil Defence emergency powers for the coordination of the emergency response given we have a significant amount of rain still to come.

Welfare centres have been opened at Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae and the House of Breakthrough, with some rural marae also opening their doors.

The GDC did not respond to questions from The Herald about the relationship with the Te Karaka community and what lessons had been learned since February,