A family with a six-week-old baby have lost their home, vehicle, stock and farming equipment after water flooded parts of Napier.
Mitchell Barnett, 29, and his wife Caitlin are still coming to terms with the extent of damage to their Awatoto home after Cyclone Gabrielle.
He told 1News: "I had a walk-in chiller, I saw that floating down past the neighbours place.
Mitchell Barnett's home suffered extensive water damage when water breached the Tutaekuri River in two places. (Source: Supplied)
"All the stock has probably gone. All the sheep are gone which is pretty sad.
"I won't be the only one that's lost a lot of stuff. I'm probably still in a bit of shock."
Strong winds and rain battered the Hawke's Bay region on Tuesday - and by daybreak, Mitchell thought they had dodged any significant flooding.
He was at his home early on Tuesday morning when he spotted a police officer going door-to-door warning neighbours they may need to evacuate.
Water had breached the Tūtaekurī River, despite stopbanks recently being raised to prevent it overflowing.
He was walking back along his driveway a short time later when he could see a wave of water heading his way.
His wife Caitlin took their little one to a safer place but Mitchell stayed back to try and move some of their stock to the highest point on their land.
Mitchell told 1News: "I could see a wave coming right through our property.
"By the time I got the baby and that into the car, it was up to my knees. Caitlin, my wife drove out, and I stayed, there was nothing you could do, it kept coming."
With most of their land being on flat ground, Mitchell wasn't left much choice other than to get himself off the property when the water reached his chest.
A firetruck took him down the road before Mitchell met up with family to reassess the situation.
His baby had no clothes and many treasured items were sitting in a home with an unknown fate.
The group decided to use an access point two kilometres from the house to try and retrieve what they could.
With his two cousins, his mate Ryan and his girlfriend, they parked a ute 2km from the house and waded along the main road to the property.
On their way, they saw a pig struggling to stay above the water which they decided to rescue.
When they got there, they realised they wouldn't be able to carry everything they needed but with Mitchell's boat sitting there, made up a new plan.
He said: "Three of us just did shuttles in and out of the house getting any dry baby clothes, anything that was salvageable from the house, passed it up to the guys on the boat and then we fired the boat up and drove out my driveway and out the main road."
They were able to get out a few meaningful items but Mitchell knows he will have to say goodbye to many of the things he and his wife worked hard for.
Like many others around the country, he and his family are facing an uncertain journey ahead.
He and his friend Ryan told 1News it's rough in the Hawke's Bay area at the moment, with power outages, restricted access to fresh food and properties having suffered damage.
Mitchell said: "We're so isolated now with bridges gone. No power, no service, no one can really talk on the phone. There's no cold stuff at the supermarkets.
"Anything at the supermarkets that is cold has been tossed out because of the power going out.
"We're thinking we will have to move in with my parents in Taradale for a few months at least. I suppose the next step is waiting for the water to go down and see what else we can go back and save."
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