Monday night and Tuesday morning were extremely busy for contractor Cam Vernon, who was up from dusk to dawn rescuing Franklin residents from flood waters as Cyclone Gabrielle unleashed her fury.
Riding atop his tractor, Vernon said it was "all go" as the rain and wind lashed the region.
"It was a little bit chaotic, to say the least."
The area become inundated with water, and some residents were in danger until Vernon came to the rescue.
"Rescued quite a few people out of their houses and some of their pets and some other stuff. There was a few cars that were flood-stricken so we had to tow them out," Vernon told Seven Sharp.
He also helped rescue a man who "decided to have a second go at driving through the flooding after some of the locals pushed him out".
"His car got swept away and we found him stuck on top of a strainer post holding on to a tree branch, so we just put him in the loader bucket and got him to dry ground. I think he will probably make better decisions in the future."
This morning, he was back at it again, a pie on the run a reward for a challenging night.
Hitching a ride on the front of the tractor were two police officers checking in on flooded properties.
Not done, Vernon also patched up roads that had been damaged in order for people to get in and out of the area.
Despite his incredible service to his community, Vernon remained humble.
"If you've got gear or ability or you're able to help your neighbour and stuff, you've just got to do it. If you choose not to and you've got the ability, you are a bit of a twat, in my opinion."
Watch the story of his busy night in the Seven Sharp video above.
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