Help Police Officer 'T' and Family of Dartmoor Rd, Puketapu

Early hours of Tuesday morning, my families homes on Dartmoor Rd, Puketapu were engulfed by a torrent of water, mud and logs. Father and Off Duty Police Officer 'T' axed his way through the roof to save his four children, partner, auntie and two dogs as their Puketapu home on Dartmoor Rd was flooding by the raging cyclone.

Huddled together for six hours, waiting for rescue while my mothers and fathers homes cracked and crumbled away. The torrential current overwhelmed everything in its path. A lone gum tree held strong and protected them on the main house while everything else fell. Thankfully a helicopter reached them and flew my family to a neighbour’s house where they were placed in a spa pool to avoid hypothermia.

Leaving behind two dogs and a cat in the flooding home to fend for themselves, by some miracle, they all survived. Ratty, the three-legged, tailless cat emerged from the rubble three days later.

My family are remarkably lucky despite having lost everything: Their home, family owned-and-run business, cars, trucks, machinery, clothing, kitchenware and keepsakes - all gone. While they were insured, it will not cover the loss of three homes and family business on the property.

You will have seen images of their loss, their interviews, their cars upside down, their home smashed, which the news agencies are using, but this support is for whanau behind those images on TV. Your donation will help them rebuild their lives and get the kids settled back into ‘normal’ life.