Proud Kaiaua community battles on
‘‘The people’’.
It seems to be the first two words that spring to mind when Kaiaua residents are asked what they most enjoy about the town.
They stick beside each other when push comes to shove and they won’t let anything dampen their spirits, not even when they were struck with flood waters as a result of a storm that swept through the costal town on January 5.
Pink Shop owner Lynn Yeager has been living in Kaiaua for 23 years and has owned the shop for the past 14. Her business has been severely flooded three times since, but not once has she thought about selling up - she’s too proud. ‘‘Never. Nah, I wouldn’t do that - I’m not a quitter,’’ she said.
The storm is a topic the Kaiaua residents choose to brush off. They’d rather get on with the job of repair. And help each other.
‘‘We’re talking about floods again,’’ Yeager said to one of her customer who responded with a resentful, ‘‘oh, are we?’’
He helped Yeager when her shop was inundated with water. He drove in his front loader tractor and started clearing out the debris that was left behind, but he wasn’t the only one.
Dean Wootton, who owns Kaiaua Household Water Supplies, was also on the job. He took time off work to clear debris with his digger and helped elderly residents move their damaged belongings to the roadside.
‘‘There is lots of community support and certainly from people that know the Pink Shop from outside Kaiaua who have commented and come into the shop to show their support,’’ said Yeager.
When the deluge swept through her shop, she lost all of her stock and her freezers were water damaged. She estimated to have lost around $50,000 in the storm. Tip Top gave her two freezers and two kind locals donated another two to keep her going until her insurance company pays her out so she can buy her own. But she’s not holding her breath.
"I still haven’t been paid out for the last flooding [in March last year]," said Yeager. "We are going though, we’re going okay."
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