Almost 10 weeks have passed since Cyclone Gabrielle struck New Zealand, but emotions are still running high for those living in areas which took the hardest blows.
Endless work continues to repair communities overwhelmed by rising waters and clean-up efforts are ongoing across damaged farms and businesses. Meanwhile homeowners hold their breath for insurers to deliver relief.
But as individuals face varying degrees of disruption, a collective sense of frustration has built among those in dire need of financial assistance but haven't seen a cent from collections.
Red Cross NZ collected more than $21 million in the aftermath of February’s storm when Kiwis rallied together to donate their hard-earned cash to get money to those who were in desperate need of assistance.
However, just $3.18 million has actually been spent on supporting organisations on the ground. The charity is not accepting individual applications.
Chloe Johnson, from Havelock North, is a part of the Cyclone Funding Support team - a small group of advocates appealing for transparency and accountability of access to donated funds.
"It is extremely upsetting to see people still cleaning up toxic silt with shovels knowing that millions of donated dollars are sitting in a bank account somewhere," she said.
"I understand the distribution of donated funds is complex and it needs to be done carefully and fairly, but it also needs to be done quickly so people can be supported right now.
"It’s frustrating and simply not good enough.”
The storm first struck Auckland on February 12 before moving down the country with reports of varying damage escalating as it continued on its path.
Two days after it hit the east coast, Johnson created the Cyclone Hawke's Bay Help page on Facebook as a way to connect volunteers with those who needed immediate help.
The page has garnered more than 13,500 members and grown into a communication hub for people to ask for help or share concerns.
She said: "We're all about getting money to where it is really needed. While a lot of progress has been made by the victims and the volunteers there is still a lot of clean-up to do."
Destructive weather pattern
Reminders of the destructive weather pattern are still apparent across many areas of Hawke's Bay.
Shrubbery which was smashed against fences remains entangled over wire fencing while vineyards look miles from their once picturesque forms.
A tour along places like State Highway 5 in Eskdale is today possibly the clearest illustrator of how much of a hammering the area took.
Chunks have disappeared from hillsides and road lanes are stripped back where tarseal came away in slips. Metre-high silt still lines the once-green surrounding land after clumps of soil washed down hills when the heavy rain fell.
Johnson said: "Some areas, such as Esk Valley, still have that war zone feeling with cars upturned, vineyards completely devastated, and houses still covered in silt. It’s heartbreaking to see."
While money has been allocated to organisations like Buttabean Motivation, the Esk Valley Community Hub and Hawke's Bay Disaster Relief Trust, Johnson says the Red Cross needs to be moving quicker.
In an ideal world, she would have liked to have seen money paid to people to do the clean-up of all affected areas and houses.
She said: "It would have been done by now. It also would’ve reduced the need for volunteer food crews, laundry networks, temporary accommodation for workers who have come from outside of Hawke’s Bay, the scramble for diggers and excavators, the list goes on.
"This would take the pressure off victims and volunteers who are getting burnt out while also helping the country’s economy by saving fruit and vegetable crops."
Red Cross NZ Secretary General Sarah Stuart-Black told 1News that as a support agency, its tasks in the immediate response to a disaster are set by the lead agency - in this case, Civil Defence.
She said: "We have not been involved in some of the other critical work involved, such as physically removing silt, because our tasks following Cyclone Gabrielle were to support at community hubs and evacuation centres, provide psychosocial support and conduct needs assessments."
Cyclone Gabrielle originated up in the tropics, so it was loaded with moisture that was unleashed across New Zealand with fury, although it lost most of its tropical characteristics.
The storm intensified just off the Northland coast as it engaged with new upper energy from the Southern Ocean, in a way giving it a second surge that helped bring the damaging winds - it squeezed out most of the tropical moisture the storm had at its disposal.
Wild weather had been a recurring theme in the weeks before the storm. Many were curious to the true extent of its potential but as the skies calmed, it became clear the extraordinary system was worthy of its warnings.
Horrific stories
By Tuesday, horrific stories were emerging from the Hawke's Bay region, amid a scattering of sensationalised rumours, tales of very real experiences emerged of people missing family members or losing loved ones, pets and homes in their toughest moments yet.
Samantha Edmondson was at her home in Tamatea, Napier, when Gabrielle's gusts and downpours made their presence known by cutting her power.
As her fridge and freezer contents warmed beyond the point of ever being consumed, she and her little boy got by on what they could for six days until the lights came back on.
Edmondson knows she is one of the lucky ones after hearing how bad it got for some people in her neighbourhood and beyond.
Despite dealing with her own uncertainty at times, she did whatever she could to support those in greater need.
Just three days after Gabrielle brought its worst, the mum-of-one was out of the house with a broom and gumboots to clear mud and sleet from inside her friend's winery in Meeanee.
A few days later she went to help on Pohutukawa Drive before going out to Puketapu. She was one of many who volunteered to do their part.
While out and about, Edmondson came across people who felt variations of exhausted, bruised and defeated.
She says the saving grace was the reassurance that generous donations would be a lifeline - but more than two months later, Edmondson fears many of those people are still desperate for relief they thought was coming.
Edmondson said: "I'm angry and sad at the same time. I have about 15 friends who have lost everything, some of whom didn't have contents insurance and are too proud to ask for anything.
"They are struggling, and it was given to the Red Cross to be given to the families here; for practical things, such as paying for rent.
"Some of my friends are paying $700 a week in temporary housing as well as their mortgage and some can't work as their businesses are also gone now.
"There have been volunteers working around the clock, putting their own lives on hold to give back to communities they don't even reside in. Mounting financial pressure is the last thing these people need."
She believes in many cases since the focus moved away from the area that it’s unpaid volunteers doing physical labour to restore their towns.
“The Red Cross should be doing lump sum payments to every family or business in the hardest hit areas," Edmondson said.
Dismayed
Stuart-Black from Red Cross NZ told 1News she recognises some people are dismayed and has offered a timeline of when she hopes more funds will have been distributed.
“We understand there is frustration from some in our communities that feel our response through the New Zealand Disaster Fund could have been faster," she said.
"We are aiming to commit the majority of funds by August – six months from when Cyclone Gabrielle occurred – with all the funds committed within 12 months."
Regarding the delay perceived by some people in Hawke's Bay, she said there is an element of consideration that they must first exercise.
In the hope of ensuring no donation is wasted, Stuart-Black said they have tried to gain an understanding of what is happening on the ground from councils, emergency management group managers, iwi and hapū and community leaders.
Stuart-Black said: "We have taken the time to understand how donations can have the most impact and we are now working with communities to distribute New Zealand Disaster Fund grants as quickly as possible."
The charity stresses one hundred percent of donations - and any interest earned - will be spent directly on supporting and assisting affected communities and is calling for organisations and groups supporting affected communities to apply for a grant from the New Zealand Disaster Fund via their website.
"We have been entrusted with this money," she said. "We will continue to be transparent throughout this process."
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