Nine weeks ago, Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through the east coast of the North Island, wiping out homes, livelihoods and communities.
Families also lost loved ones in the devastating storm.
In Te Karaka, 30 kilometres north-west of Gisborne, around 500 residents took shelter on a hill without food, communication or help for 27 hours after being evacuated from their homes at 5am.
Having run out of food, people risked their lives to drive back through floodwaters along State Highway 2 — getting food from their homes and returning to the hill to feed their families.
Breakfast host Jenny-May Clarkson, who visited the town 40 hours after the cyclone struck, returned this week to see how the locals were coping.
"There have been some organisations that have failed us," Alicia Ruru told Breakfast. (Source: Breakfast)
"Nine weeks ago I jumped on a plane to come home and I remember crying all the way home on that flight because I knew that I was leaving behind devastated communities," she told Breakfast this morning.
"I made a promise at that point in time that I was going to come back here and remind us all about what happened here nine weeks ago, and remind us also that the struggles that continue."
Te Karaka resident Alicia Ruru appeared on Breakfast soon after the cyclone swept through the region, desperate to let her family know she was safe.
"The water was swift. My house filled up within like five minutes," Ruru said at the time.
"[The floodwaters] wiped us out, all of us."
This week, she told Clarkson that daily life following the cyclone has been "getting better each day, but it has been a struggle".
"Just being away from Te Karaka is a challenge in itself, so then you've got to put on top of that adapting to a new situation, another living arrangement, then you've got to try and fit mahi in between there as well."
Despite the tough circumstances, she said she's been "lucky" thanks to her "great support system".
"I've been fortunate enough to have the time to come and attend to appointments and things that have been happening with the house, which has been pretty much on the daily," she said.
'Never again'
Jenny-May Clarkson spoke with Te Karaka residents who have lost everything because of the storm. (Source: Breakfast)
While there have been stories of heartbreak and resilience, there is also a deep sense of having been forgotten by the Gisborne District Council.
Te Atianga a Mahaki Trust's Dave Pikia said it's been a "hard road" holding weekly community hui to "inform our whānau and that, updating them, what's happening, what's going on, who the go-tos are".
"It's just updating them and showing that we are there to support and we do care," he said.
Ruru said the Sunday hui are "very, very important to us as a whānau because we've been getting no communication from anywhere else".
"There have been some organisations that have failed us. They haven't even communicated with us in regards to how they intend to aid us.
"We've relied on these huis every week to keep us in communication with everything."
Te Atianga a Mahaki's Pimia Wehi said 117 families in Te Karaka were displaced following the cyclone.
"That's about a fifth of our population here in Te Karaka who were displaced and not able to return home.
"Never again for us. Never again are we going to have our people on those hills."
She said the trust is also committed to establishing an iwi-led community response team "because we know we can look after our people".
'Been through hell'
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz today told Breakfast while she is "proud of our effort, but we also need to be honest — the Te Karaka community has been through hell".
"Things are tough out there and it will take a long time to get that community back on its feet."
She also acknowledged the Te Atianga a Mahaki Trust's "fabulous work" keeping the community informed.
"Yes, it is tough out there. More can be done. We want to support where we can and I do know that our teams have been out there helping with silt removal and putting bins out to help, but there's always more that can be done and we want to help."
Stoltz said the biggest challenge for the district going forward is "that emotional impact which we've seen".
"I have sat and cried with so many whānau at their homes that have been destroyed.
"People are hurting and everyone has moved on — which is understandable — but here in the Tai Rāwhiti, there are whānau that are still hurting. There's whānau that's struggling to deal with their insurance companies and that's understandable as well. There are whānau that feel not enough is being done or that they are not getting the help they need.
"Our challenges are to make sure we're there, make sure we assist where we can."
But she reiterated that the recovery stage "is not a Gisborne District Council effort".
"This is a Civil Defence, iwi, community organisations, police, MSD, Government — everyone plays a role.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we have done in the last nine weeks but there's always room for improvement."
'Everybody has to muck in'
The East Coast MP told Breakfast the recovery “has to be by this place, for this place”. (Source: Breakfast)
While work continues to repair damaged homes, businesses and infrastructure, questions are also emerging around future-proofing the region's water supply after it was left with nine separate breaks along the 40km-long pipeline.
It left the region with severe water restrictions for six weeks as teams worked to repair the damaged pipeline.
East Coast MP Kiritapu Allan today told Breakfast future-proofing the pipeline is "a huge task ahead".
"I think what's been critical to our recovery is that it has to be community-led; it has to be iwi-led. It has to be by this place, for this place," she said.
"In a region like this where we are sparse on the ground with hands, every hand makes a big difference."
She said the rebuild is a "full community effort" where "everybody has to muck in".
"Doesn't matter what the role is but we've all gotta just chip in and play our part."
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