Mike and Sue Brown opted not to take a buyout. Photo: NZME / supplied
Mike and Sue Brown were trapped on their Pākōwhai roof eighteen months ago. Now they're trapped underneath it.
The couple, whose Hawke's Bay home was submerged under a mini ocean of water during Cyclone Gabrielle on 14 February, 2023, have refused to accept a voluntary buyout of their now red-zoned home.
They say looters are circling their refurbished home, emboldened by the knowledge that their house is no longer surrounded by a thriving community.
The Browns say the decision to put their property into a Category 3 red zone - meaning homes on it are deemed intolerable risk to life in future flood events - was wrong from the start and has left them with a bleak future.
The at-times fraught Category 3 process is now nearing completion in the region.
So far 95 percent of Hawke's Bay's 167 eligible Category 3 property owners have received a voluntary buyout offer and 83 percent have accepted the offer. Just eight properties have chosen not to take the voluntary buyout, as of the end of October.
Homeowners placed into Category 3 don't have to accept a buyout, but if they don't, their options are limited. Insurance becomes near-impossible, and the value of the home plummets as a result.
The Browns know this, but say they couldn't afford to leave, and didn't particularly want to engage with a process led by the councils - Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC) and Hastings District Council - which they say failed them during the cyclone.
"We were sitting pretty before the cyclone," Sue said.
"Nearing retirement with a small mortgage, we planned to stay here for another 10 years, then sell up and downsize leaving us with money in the bank."
Mike and Sue Brown say they had no choice but to refurbish their Category 3 home in Pākōwhai. Photo: Linda Hall
She says her dreams, and choices, have since been taken away, step by step.
"We have to stay here forever now," Sue said. "And if we lose the house, I'll be an old woman one day with nothing. It scares me."
Mike says it was a no-brainer to rebuild.
"The buyout offer came 12 months after the flood. We looked at houses and were shocked at what half a million dollars got you, which was bugger all. Especially back then when so many people were looking to buy properties and paying top dollar for them.
"We really had no choice but to refurbish the house to the same plan."
While Mike says he has moved on from their terrifying experience of the cyclone, Sue is still struggling. She made an online photo book with images capturing the day of the cyclone and its aftermath, including photos of them trapped on the roof.
"I thought it would help me move on but it didn't. I took one look at it when it arrived and then threw it under the coffee table," Sue said.
"I don't care what anyone says, our councils didn't do their jobs and we are paying the ultimate price.
"They stuffed up. They admit it, but have not apologised."
Flood water had risen rose over the roof of Sue and Mike Brown's Pākōwhai home before they and their dog Jazz were rescued by helicopter. Photo: Paul Taylor / NZME
A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said its focus, after the immediate response to 14 February, had been on restoring the transport network, supporting the large task of silt collection and removal, and undertaking the voluntary buyout, where the vast majority of Category 3 homes are located.
"We are really proud of the progress that has been made to date," the spokeswoman said.
"This includes securing critical Central government funding to support the recovery work; the large work programme underway to repair and rebuild our roads; and the significant progress we have made with the voluntary buy-out which has provided hundreds of Category property owners with pathways to resettle in safer areas."
Trying to escape
"We had no warning," Mike and Sue Brown say of the deluge that burst the banks of the Ngaruroro and Tūtaekuri Rivers, completely flooding Pākōwhai, the settlement that sits between them.
"We weren't on social media. We knew nothing about what was going on. Yes, it was raining heavily but we weren't in the least bit worried."
When they decided to leave, the couple didn't even get halfway down Sissons Rd before the water engulfed their campervan. They left the van and waded back home.
Once inside water began to pour into their home, "Mike was sitting at the kitchen counter looking very dejected as the water poured in over our newly laid carpet," Sue said.
"I said to him 'do you think we should make a plan?'."
She fetched a ladder and placed it against the side of the house and they put their four cats in the rafters of the garage and grabbed their dog. By the time they were ready to climb the ladder, the current had taken it away.
They managed to clamber up and watched the water rise as they moved to the highest part of their roof.
After four hours, at just before 5pm, a helicopter rescued them from the roof.
"We ended up at the Hastings Sports Centre," Sue said. "Mike had hypothermia. We were wet through, naked and wrapped in blankets. I was visibly distressed and then told I couldn't bring my dog in. That broke me."
Some photos from the book Sue Brown had made capturing shots from before and after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: Supplied via LDR
After the cyclone
The cats didn't survive.
Sue and Mike stayed in Hastings with a friend for six weeks before buying another campervan, which they lived in on their property for nine months while they tried to restore order.
"We had a lovely crew of people turn up and help clean. We also had people come and ask us if we minded them going through our stuff piled at the roadside. Others just helped themselves."
They did a bit of freedom camping when things got too tough, but looters were a constant worry.
One day Sue found her jewellery statue and a bracelet. She put them beside the door. The next day they were gone.
Where to now?
The couple say Hastings District Council and HRBC are largely oblivious to the plights of the people who haven't accepted buyouts.
And the biggest plight facing the Browns, still, is looting.
"By creating Category 3 they gave everyone a map to see where the empty houses were - perfect for looters." Sue said.
"Cars come up and down our dead-end road at all hours of the night.
"And we don't think there was a need for any categories to begin with. It's been devastating to see so many houses pulled down around us and I believe it was unnecessary.
"Surely there was a better solution? As it stands those like us that didn't [accept a buyout] are paying a huge price."
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said creating the categorisation process was a function of central government, with the actual categorisation of properties undertaken by HRBC.
"Council is aware of the activity referred to and has worked closely with communities and police to address it, including partnering with the community to add CCTV in Pākōwhai, footage from which has been shared with police to help with their inquiries.
"We are very disappointed that some people have taken advantage of this situation.
"The information about the Category 3 areas was made public as soon as they were identified - council does not believe it has emboldened people to engage in this activity by making maps of these areas available."
Taking the buyout
It's gone. Demolished. A home of 20 years reduced to dust.
For Ruth Spittle and her partner, it's a bitter pill to swallow as the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle just keeps battering away at them. They are not the only ones in the farming and lifestyle community of Pākōwhai devastated as flood waters from the Tūtaekuri and Ngarurōrō rivers swamped their properties.
Mike Brown inside his house before the refurbishment that he says was a no-brainer. Photo: NZME / supplied
For Spittle, the battle with the HRBC and the Hastings District Council is over. Their home in Gilligan Rd was zoned Category 3 after being moved in and out of the red zone.
"We are gutted. All our hard work over the past 20 years is just gone."
She said they really had no choice but to take the buyout offered by the council.
"We are at the end of our working lives. If we chose to stay and rebuild there would be no insurance. Although we could stay and live on the land, we couldn't afford to buy another house and refurbish our home in Pākōwhai.
"There are a lot of people of a similar age in the area at the end of their careers - late 60s to early 70s. When we bought another home, everyone was hunting for somewhere to live. We paid top of the market prices."
Spittle says her biggest bugbear remains the looters.
"They are still there. When we signed the house over to the council, four companies came to give quotes on demolition costs. Straight after that the looters came through and took all the copper pipes and a heat transfer unit."
What is Category 3?
The land categorisation process was imposed by central government and then led by HRBC to assess the risk to life from flooding events in different areas after the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Based on the maps, the voluntary buyout programme began, led by Hastings and Napier councils, to help remove "intolerable risk to life from any future flood events in Category 3 areas".
There are 326 Category 3 properties in Hawke's Bay, with 167 eligible for the voluntary buyout (153 in Hastings and 14 in Napier).
The land categorisation process is complete, and the actual category a property falls into will remain relevant until the voluntary buy-out process is complete and the flood mitigation projects (being led by HBRC) are complete.
Ninety-five percent of eligible property owners have received a voluntary buy-out offer, with around 83 percent accepting the offer at this stage.
Just under 5 percent of property owners (eight properties) have chosen not to take the voluntary buy-out at this stage.
A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said ultimately the process was (and is) a voluntary one, offers have been very fair, and property owners have had to weigh up preferences on the pathways available to them.
"Some property owners have chosen not to take the buy-out and remain living on their properties," a Hastings District Council spokeswoman said.
"The availability of insurance is outside of council's control but Council is proud to have offered pathways for property owners who were faced with no insurance in Category 3 areas."
HRBC provided specific information about the categorisation process for this article. A request for a response to other issues raised in this article was referred to Hastings District Council.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.