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April 13, 2022
Tairāwhiti civil defence braced for Cyclone Fili
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On April 13, 2022
Download AudioCoasters are hunkering down as they wait for Cyclone Fili to pass through Tairāwhiti.
Lillian Te Hau-Ward from Tokomaru Bay civil defence says there was strong rain and wind through the night, and some areas are already flooded.
Some whānau were evacuated as a precaution as people hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.
“We’ve got to be resilient communities. In weather events we always (get) cut off so it’s about us responding and doing the best we can until the cavalry comes riding in,” she says.
Ms Te Hau-Ward heads the AKO Warriors, which was set up during the first Covid lockdown to deliver kai and run checkpoints but has continued on to deal with two floods and now this cyclone.
Cyclone Fili has tracked further east than expected, but heavy rains and strong winds are still expected for Wairoa, Tairāwhiti and Hawkes’s Bay.
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