Anxious wait for family’s cyclone news

It took two days for Rodger Barang to make contact with loved ones caught in a tropical cyclone in Vanuatu.

During those two days of lockdown all he could do was worry – as did the other 11 men sharing the overseas worker accommodation in Renwick, Marlborough, with him.

Cyclone Harold, a category 4 storm, had caused extensive damage in Vanuatu after it tore through the country’s northern islands last Monday night, packing winds in excess of 250kmh.

It had since hit other Pacific islands, including Fiji and Tonga.

Barang said his wife and two children were safe in Malekula, Vanuatu. But his extended family in Espiritu Santo ‘‘have been left with nothing’’.

‘‘At the moment I am truly sad. For me my family is back home. I’m sad because most of the boys here have family at home.

‘‘We are catching up with the news and looking on Facebook,’’ Barang said.

The men work for Thornhill Horticulture Ltd under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, providing essential labour to Marlborough’s wine industry. The men were in lockdown in Marlborough and did not know when they could return to Vanuatu.

‘‘I have a lot of family in Santo . . . Everything has been damaged; they have been left with nothing. All of their clothes are gone.’’

It took two days for Barang to make contact with his family, after ‘‘power lines and networks were damaged’’.

‘‘I have two kids, a boy and a girl, so they’re with their mum in Vanuatu. And I talked to them, and they are quite OK.’’

A Defence Force Hercules has flown to the Pacific nation carrying a private helicopter, satellite phones, chainsaw kits and agricultural equipment. New Zealand will also provide funds to Vanuatu for its relief efforts.

‘‘I know New Zealand has already sent some support to Vanuatu, so thank you to the people of New Zealand for being supportive of Vanuatu,’’ Barang said.

‘‘We hope there won’t be any more suffering. It’s a natural disaster and we can’t do much about it. We hope people will get back to their feet and we will live like we used to be.’’

A Marlborough police officer was forced to cut his 3000km cycle ride the length of New Zealand short due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Marlborough highway patrol constable Brett Burns got as far as Wanaka on March 23 – having ridden about 2760km from Cape Reinga – when it was announced the country would be going into lockdown. He had ridden for 20 days straight and only had about 330km to reach Bluff and complete the journey.

However, Burns said it was the responsible thing to do to end the trip and he drove back to Blenheim from Wanaka the next day.