Cyclone Gabrielle flier

This information flier was distributed to Napier residents on Saturday 18 February 2023 in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle which struck Aotearoa New Zealand between 12 and 16 February 2023. It was published by Napier City Council, Hawke's Bay Regional Council, and Hawke's Bay Emergency Management (Civil Defence).

Cyclone Gabrielle was a severe tropical cyclone felt over a wide area, including Taitokerau / Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti / Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. The cyclone came close on the heels of Ex-Cyclone Hale (10-11 January) and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods (27 January). A national state of emergency was announced for only the third time in New Zealand’s history.

Gabrielle was the deadliest cyclone since Cyclone Giselle in 1968 and Cyclone Bola in 1988. It caused 11 deaths, major infrastructural damage, loss of homes, possessions and livelihoods. At the height of the cyclone’s impact, around 225,000 homes were without power, thousands of people were displaced as flood waters rose, and many communities were disconnected by damaged roads and bridges. There was extensive damage to key infrastructure in the east coast of the North Island, including roading, electricity, telecommunications, and water infrastructure. Damaging rainfall, winds and flooding hit the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti regions the hardest. Forestry slash was swept down rivers, destroying roads and bridges, and filling beaches.

The Hawke’s Bay suffered huge floodwaters with stop banks breached, bridges destroyed, land and buildings consumed in silt, and power cut. Thousands of people were evacuated. A flash flood swept through the Esk Valley, with homes buried in silt up to their rooflines. Many people were caught out during the night and sought refuge on their rooftops before being rescued by helicopter.

When the Hawke’s Bay Redcliffe substation was damaged, phone and internet services were lost. Radio and local print media became critical communication tools (the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper was distributed for free on 17 February with vital information).

Often social media and online outlets trump traditional news media in being able to quickly convey information on disasters, but with the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle on digital technology, print-based media (such as this flier) and radio were better able to provide a clearer picture of the impacts and convey vital information and advice.