Failure to prioritise elderly, disabled in Gisborne evacuations, research project reveals

[...]

Te Weu Tairāwhiti presented its report titled Research into health and wellbeing impacts of adverse weather conditions at a Resilience Research Symposium at Midway Surf Rescue Community Hub last week.

"Our most vulnerable members of our community, our pakeke (elderly) weren't prioritised when it came to evacuation," researcher Hiria Philip-Barbara said.

[...]

"A lot of them weren't evacuated by officials but were evacuated by locals. It was our rangatahi, our young people, that went in and saved their pakeke," Philip-Barbara said.

[...]

Some youth felt helpless and unsure how to help their communities, while others were integral to recovery initiatives and played key roles in supporting their community's recovery.

[...]

"There was a lady who was stuck in her wheelchair and by the time people found her, the water was at her neck," Philip-Barbara read from an anonymous participant statement.

[...]