Opunake proves resilient
Hot scones and pies brought cheer to a young family in a home without power in Opunake as winds from Cyclone Gabrielle pummelled the coastal Taranaki town.
There was little damage reported from the storm, but about 200 houses were without power on Tuesday, so some people were unable to prepare meals.
Although volunteers from the Opunake Emergency Management Group did not need to open the welfare centre they had prepared, they were out in force on Tuesday making sure people in the community were all OK.
Infant formula and hot water to mix it for a baby, and pies for the other children were dropped off to the hungry family by group volunteer Raewyn Cornford, who was out on the windswept afternoon with her two little dogs.
‘‘There’s hot scones on the way too,’’ she said. ‘‘We’re all out doing welfare checks on the elderly, making sure they are all fed.’’
The coastal community was close-knit and kept an eye out for each other, she said.
‘‘We encourage people to reach out, we have a lot of help we can give. We scaled things up through Covid.’’
On another street, volunteers Donelle Nunes and Phil Flintoff were going door to door, checking that people were managing.
‘‘Most people are pretty prepared,’’ she said.
Those who didn’t need help enjoyed a visit from a friendly face. ‘‘Being a small town, you know people,’’ she said.
On Opunake’s main street, there was much less traffic than usual, with many businesses, the library and the TSB Bank, closed for the day due to the cyclone.
The Arty Tarts Cafe had seen a flurry of people coming in for breakfast because they had no power, but it had otherwise been a quiet day, owner Michelle Paton said.
She said this storm had been less intense than predicted for the area, and had not heard of any significant damage.
Staff member Camille Raynaud said the cyclone winds had not been as severe as some of the storms which rock Opunake in the winter.
Both women said they felt for communities elsewhere in the North Island that have been hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle.