NATURE’S FURY
‘Even the cutlery was shaking’ — huge swells rattle coastal residents
As the frothing sea pulls back off the coast of Haumoana, south of Napier, thousands of pebbles on the beach rattle like cicadas as they line up for another punch at Shirley Coker’s house.
From the comfort — if you can
call it that — of her conservatory, the thud of the wave gives the ground a jolt as if an earthquake has struck.
Stones and salt water scatter from the air.
This is life at the house they call “Bridgeman Peninsula” on a big swell day — a day that is tinged with awe at the ocean, and with fear.
Hawke’s Bay has been hit by huge swells this week. On Wednesday, Napier Port was forced to turn away ships as waves smashed the coast. The Napier City Council closed the Marine Parade viewing platform after tourists were drenched by the heaving sea.
Coker’s home on Clifton Rd is among the most exposed to the raging elements.
Coker said some of the waves over the past few nights had been really scary, jolting and shaking the house like an earthquake.
“Some of the waves would come and crash into the wall and water would fly straight over the house.
“It jolts the house and stones that are picked up from the sea and makes a hell of a noise hitting the house.”
Stones from previous swell events have already chipped and cracked some of the windows, Coker said.
It’s particularly troubling at high tide in the night, when the waves can’t be seen so easily, but can be heard.
“The other night the waves were really making a racket and it was making the house shake, and even the cutlery and things were shaking around in the cupboards.”
Coker’s partner, the late John Bridgeman, built his own sea defensive wall in 2002 and planned to extend his construction to protect the rest of the properties along the erosion-ridden coastline that Clifton Rd runs down but that plan has since faded following his passing.
In her 11 years living at the property, Coker said, she had never really considered moving but the past few days had made her think about it.
“When you have nights with these big swells and they crash and shake the house like they do you sort of think ‘What am I doing?’.
“But I would never leave. I just love this place and the bay so much. The only way I will leave is if this place gets swept away.”
The Hastings District Council is planning to invest more than $2 million in a seawall to protect the cape coast community as it continues to lead the country with the coastal strategy.
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said the system causing the large swells out to the east was starting to ease.
“The pressure system to the east is slowly dying down which has left swells at 3.5m compared to 4m seen the other day. But those swells will still take some time to calm right down, with swells of only a metre expected on Monday.”
Napier Port is stopping vessels from entering the port because the conditions are still not safe.
Councils are holding precautions in place with Hastings keeping the Clifton Beach area around the motor camp closed and Napier is leaving its viewing platform closed.
Both are set to evaluate the conditions today.