Māhia locals living near where three deceased fishermen were discovered say weather conditions limiting search and rescue efforts were worse than during the deadly Cyclone Gabrielle.

It follows friends of one of the anglers releasing a joint statement celebrating the man’s legacy and love for his family as collective donations for the three grieving families exceed $250,000.

Rain and wind continued to pelt Gisborne and Māhia today as locals suffer under what feels like a constant barrage of stormy weather.

Debris is still scattered on some roads, while fresh slips are still occurring. The dirty Waimata and Taruheru rivers running through town have receded but the silt and tree branches are left behind to mark how high the water level reached.

The three East Coast fishermen - Elwood Higgins (37), Taina Sinoti (33) and Damien Macpherson (38) were found deceased along the eastern Māhia Peninsula coastline yesterday morning after being reported missing on Monday having gone fishing that morning.

Elwood Higgins, seen here, was one of the men who passed away after going missing at sea. Photo / Facebook

Wild conditions forced search and rescue staff, as well as concerned locals, to abandon efforts to save the three men, all in their 30s, before making the tragic discovery yesterday.

Na Eruera and Irene Raihania live only a couple of kilometres from where one of the men was found near White Rock at Table Cape, the easternmost point of the peninsula. It’s understood the two others were found a few kilometres further down the coastline.

Speaking to the Herald from Māhia, they recalled how helicopters were flying overhead as the rescue efforts continued. They’d kept a normally locked gate open to give easy access to people taking part in the search.

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Na Eruera said the weather conditions were the worst he’d seen in three decades of coming to Māhia, even worse than conditions during Cyclone Gabrielle last year, hunkering down in their house about 100 metres from the beach.

“Gabrielle was just a one-night thing, this has been two days of just constant wind and rain,” he said.

“The sea would’ve been horrible for the rescuers.

“I think that’s the most mentally draining thing is watching it consistently get worse and worse and the tide getting closer and closer,” Irene said.

It was along the eastern coastline of the Māhia Peninsula where the three men were discovered. Photo / Adam Pearse

While the men weren’t from Māhia, Irene said everyone in the community was feeling “real sad and gutted”.

“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to think about your safety really, Tangaroa [Māori god of the sea] is a whole different ball game.”

The grief being felt by the Gisborne community was palpable. Their deaths had prompted a strong donations response with four separate Givealittle pages totalling about $256,000 as of 5pm today.

Macpherson’s page had amassed almost $121,000, Sinoti’s had received about $38,000 and Higgins’ family had been donated almost $30,000. A page set up by the Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club had received about $67,000, which would be split evenly amongst the families.

This afternoon, close friends of Sinoti released a joint statement, seen by his wife Mel and given to the Herald, in which they described a “hugely popular” man who had a “contagious laugh and smile”.

“You know someone’s funny when they can make you at make you laugh at your own fault or pain,” it read.

“He loved a good yarn, but his actions always spoke louder than words.”

Taina Sinoti with his wife Mel and children Ezekiel and Billie-Melanie. Photo / Supplied

It said Sinoti had married the “woman of his dreams” and loved his two children, aged 5 and 1.

“He loved and fathered by example, and his legacy and love for them will never perish.

“Taina will be sorely missed by so many.”

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.