In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle
Many Tairāwhiti and Wairoa residents encountered a new and difficult experience in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle on February 14 — how to get by without the internet, any cellphone coverage and no Eftpos.
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Te Karaka bore the brunt of Cyclone Gabrielle in Tairāwhiti, with most of the township flooded in the early hours that Tuesday morning and 500 people evacuated.
Virtually everyone in Te Karaka knew John Coates, who died at his property in the rapidly rising waters.
Evacuations were also carried out on the East Coast and there were extensive road and bridge failures district-wide.
More FM was the main source of news for locals who had battery-powered radios, in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone.
Power came back on in Gisborne city progressively from late in the afternoon of February 14, allowing preparations to begin for publishing a Gisborne Herald the next day.
With no internet, Herald staff had to move every item for the paper on USB memory sticks, transferring stories, photographs, ads and PDFs between computers.
The presses rolled about two-and-a-half hours later than usual on the Wednesday. Gisborne District Council had organised 100 volunteers to distribute 22,000 copies throughout the city to provide news and civil defence information — particularly around the water crisis in the city, with the municipal supply severed by multiple breaks.
A Starlink satellite receiver supplied by the council restored a limited internet connection for The Gisborne Herald that afternoon, allowing the paper to resume national and world news coverage the next day.
In the five days before broadband was reconnected, crowds formed where internet service was available via satellite receivers at certain sites — including Gisborne District Council and the police station.
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Filmed and Edited by
Ben Cowper
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