Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visits flood-ravaged Hawke's Bay
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says seeing the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle has made it real for him, and promised as many resources as possible are being provided to assist in the response.
"I think you can see it on the TV, you can see photos, you can even see aerial videos but getting on the ground and seeing the true extent of the damage and actually speaking to people whose lives have been just completely turned upside down makes it very very real," Hipkins told media on the ground in Hawke's Bay this afternoon.
Hipkins visited the Group Emergency Coordination Centre in Hastings this morning, before travelling north to Napier to the Rodney Green Centennial Event Centre which has been transformed into a shelter for those displaced by the floods. He was joined by Labour ministers including Kieran McAnulty and Napier MP Stuart Nash.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins pictured with Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Controller Ian Macdonald visited the Group Emergency Coordination Centre in Hastings. Photo/Supplied.
In Esk Valley, Hipkins spoke to those directly impacted by the flooding and heard stories from first responders.
"There is no question, this is a major and catastrophic event and it is going to take us some time to get through this first immediate emergency response phase. Some parts are going to get through the emergency response faster than others.
"We've been in areas today where they've still got a lot of work ahead of them just to get through the first initial response. Then we turn our minds to recovery."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins pictured with Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Controller Ian Macdonald survey the damage in Esk Valley. Photo/Supplied.
He declined to answer questions regarding whether he was comfortable with the initial emergency response by Civil Defence, "as the people who will in due course respond to that are still involved in an emergency response".
However, he indicated lessons need to be learnt going forward.
"There will always be an opportunity for reflection and hindsight as to what could have been done differently. In any disaster by its very nature, it can be very bumpy at the beginning. The reality is we haven't got time to look at that now, We want everybody focused on looking forward on the task that's in front of them which is still a massive task."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks to first responders in Esk Valley. Photo/Supplied.
