Tolaga Bay marae against floods forever
An East Coast marae badly flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle is looking at ways of making sure it never happens again.
Puketawai Marae trustee Victor Walker remembers dropping to his knees at the sight of the marae — just north of Uawa Tolaga Bay — under water after Cyclone Gabrielle released its fury on Tairawhiti.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was so stunned. I was thinking there was no way this was our marae.”
Walker said Puketawai had escaped unscathed during Cyclone Hale a few weeks earlier and people had been popping out daily to check on it.
Link to article: East Coast whānau wants to future-proof Tolaga Bay marae against floods forever - NZ Herald
