Debbie returns to flood ravaged home in New Zealand to find it looted

Eilís Ryan

A Mullingar woman and her husband whose home at Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand was ruined in the flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle on February 13 returned after the inundation to find that looters had been through the house and removed televisions and other high-value items.

Debbie Stephens (née Nugent) and her husband Corey, who were married in Kilkenny in September, had to flee their bungalow on St Valentine’s Day as flood waters began rising in the yard surrounding the property.

Fleeing with them was Debbie’s mother, Miriam Nugent from Prospect, who was holidaying with the newly-weds.

The next day, they had to use a kayak to go back to assess the damage, and when they arrived, they found their hopes that the house might have escaped damage were in vain: it too had been flooded.

Not just that, but looters had cleared the house of appliances and the televisions; Debbie’s car had been destroyed by the floodwaters and Corey’s power-tools were also ruined and fit only for dumping.

The hardship didn’t end there, however: a couple of days later, as they attempted to remove water-damaged floor-coverings from the house, they received word that a sewage plant close to their home was leaking, and that they had to evacuate.

The damage to their house was a heartbreaking discovery for the two, who had transformed the property since taking possession of it in September 2021, just after the death of Debbie’s much-loved father, the late builder Harry Nugent.

Despite their losses, the Stephenses are choosing to look on the bright side: “We generally try and keep positive about things and try to look on the positive side of any situation. So we are OK. It could have been a hell of a lot worse [for us]. People died,” says Debbie.

“Yeah it’s really hard not being able to go home, it’s pretty crap, but as far as ‘stuff’ goes, we’re not too worried about stuff.”

The future is uncertain for Debbie and Corey: they are not sure if they will be able to repair the home, and they have been advised that the property was under-insured.

Because of pressure on space at Corey’s family home, Debbie and Corey had to sleep in a tent at Corey’s family home for a number of nights in the immediate aftermath of the flooding, Debbie and Debbie’s mother has cut short her stay in New Zealand and is to return to Mullingar.

To get them over some immediate financial hurdles, and the cost of flying Miriam back to Ireland unexpectedly, Corey’s sister has set up an appeal to raise NZ$7,000 (€4,100) on the New Zealand site, givealittle.co.nz (givealittle.co.nz/cause/please-help-debbie-and-corey)

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Couple forced to sleep in tent after Cyclone Gabrielle destroys home