Here’s the fresh information Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management needs you to know in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. This information will be updated daily.

Cleaning up silt:

Take precautions when you are cleaning up silt to avoid breathing airborne dust and direct contact with your skin.

• Wear a facemask
• Wear gloves, clothing that covers your arms and legs, and boots or sturdy closed shoes
• Wash and dry your hands afterwards, or use hand sanitiser

Where to go if you need help

Several civil defence centres and community hubs are open for anyone in town who needs help. Here’s where to go:

Civil Defence Centres

• Centennial Hall, Napier
• Flaxmere Community Centre

Community Hubs

Napier:

• Kings Church
• Bay View Hotel
• What Ever It Takes

Hastings

• Cook Islands Centre
• Te Aranga Marae
• Ex Scout Hall
• Ascend Global Church
• Waipatu Marae
• Malamalama Centre – EFKS Flaxmere

Central Hawkes Bay

• 30,000 remain without power in Hawke's Bay
• The small towns in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay 'desperately in need'
• Queensland disaster response team: We get floods 'but this is different'

• Pōrangahau Town Hall

Isolated communities:

Civil Defence and NZ Defence Force are working together to drop supplies into our isolated rural communities. This includes food, water, fuel, and medicine.

Medical staff are also being flown into isolated communities to run pop-up clinics.

Wairoa

If you’re in Wairoa:

• SH2 Wairoa-Gisborne is OPEN, though SH2 Napier-Wairoa is still CLOSED.
• New World supermarket is open and so are the Z and GAS petrol stations.
• A boil water notice is in place for the Tuai water scheme.
• Supplies are being provided to communities without road access by Civil Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force.
• Internet and phone connectivity continues to improve.
• Some rural people are still isolated and emergency services have carried out welfare checks throughout the district by road or air.

How you can help

Hawke’s Bay people are SO generous. Civil defence is reminding everyone that they do not need any more blankets, clothes, household goods or small amounts of food.

What they do need is LARGE AMOUNTS OF NON-PERISHABLE GOODS but only in bulk – that’s by the truckload or in pallets. So if you are a supplier and want to contribute, get in touch with the logistics team by emailing [email protected].

If you would like to offer support in a different way, please register with Volunteering Hawkes Bay – their website is www.volunteeringhb.org.nz

Otherwise please consider donating money to one of the official funds – there is a list on the HB Civil Defence Emergency Management Group’s Facebook page.

Power:

The latest from Unison is that they are working hard to restore power to just under 4000 customers in rural areas still without electricity (as at 12pm Wednesday).

The network has suffered extensive damage and in some places Unison is looking to bring in generators to rural substations. Unison is asking everyone who has power restored to please conserve electricity.

And if you still have no power, now is the time to check all your appliances are switched off – particularly stoves, ovens and heaters – to reduce the risk of fire when the power comes back on.

Roads:

Road crews are working hard so please keep checking the Waka Kotahi website for updated information on state highways and your local council for local roads. Please be patient and allow extra time for your trip

Mental health:

It continues to be an immensely challenging time for many of us. It’s okay to not be okay.

Going through a natural disaster can take a significant toll on our wellbeing, but everyone will respond differently to the shock. You might notice your feelings are changing day to day, or even hour to hour. Once the adrenaline starts wearing off, you could be experiencing a range of physical reactions too – feeling shaky, queasy, having no appetite, or struggling to concentrate. This is all completely normal and understandable.

Whatever you’re going through, rest assured you’re not alone. If you’re struggling to cope, visit the All Right? website, free call or text 1737, or text Youthline on 234, or call Lifeline on 0800 543354.

Let’s take it day by day, step by step.