The calm after the storm

In early May, the tiny beach settlement of Waimarama in Hawke’s Bay was hit by a significant storm.  A call for help from the Hastings District Council Civil Defence and Emergency Management group resulted in approximately 100 offenders taking part in the massive clean-up.

Community Work Supervisor Lyn Bryant was involved in taking the first team of 29 offenders over the hill to the seaside resort.  “There was silence in the van as we drove closer to Waimarama.  The road was down to one lane in many places and blocked by massive slips where the hillside had come crashing down; bringing trees, mud and boulders with them.  The offenders were shocked at the devastation caused to a place that they come to with their families to dive, fish and swim.”

The Civil Defence team met Lyn and her team at the rural fire station.  Two teams were then despatched at the local school, marae and Kohanga Reo.  Duties included clearing mud off the road, digging out footpaths and even digging the Kohanga bus out of the silt!

“Not one offender complained about the tasks they were given.  They saw how great the need was and they went to work without question and achieved huge amounts in a very short time.

“You could see in the offenders’ faces the emotion and the sympathy they had for the locals.  They are so thankful that no lives were lost and that the buildings are salvageable.  They appreciate being able to help out, and have given it their absolute commitment; with some reporting for community work more frequently in order to see the job through.”

A week after the storm, two further teams of community work offenders went to Waimarama to begin cleaning up the marae buildings.  Spades were used to scrape the mud off the floors.  The floors were then hosed and scrubbed with brooms repeatedly until they were clean. 

A number of homes had to be evacuated and red-stickered, due to having over a metre of water through them.  The small beach-side community relies on septic tanks which had also been damaged and were overflowing.  Raw sewage was therefore running through some homes.

Lyn said the Waimarama community really welcomed the assistance of Community Probation Services.  “The impact of the storm and clean-up work has highlighted for offenders the benefit of the work they do.  Prior to the storm we had done a fair bit of work at the marae – some of the offenders have pointed out damage to things they have put work into, such as the gardens.”

Hastings District Council Emergency Manager Don Scott said, “From a Council perspective, we were thankful for their help – it was of great benefit.”

Thanks to the efforts of Senior Community Work Supervisor Stuart McKenzie;  Supervisors Shane Crosswell and Peter Hinton, and Service Manager Stuart Knight who proactively identified the seriousness of the situation.