A Hawke’s Bay mayor has called the region’s response to Cyclone Vaianu “woke” and said “there was a lot of panicking going on” over not too much.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier, Hastings, and Central Hawke’s Bay councils declared a local state of emergency for coastal areas on Saturday at 11.56am.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said today that he was asked to join them but refused.

“We didn’t need a state of emergency. When you make a call like that, it means you are under the pump,” he said.

“I think it takes away the importance of a state of emergency.

“Our Civil Defence team, led by controller Juanita Savage, monitored the weather situation and potential impacts and based on the information provided, conditions and forecasts did not meet the required criteria to activate.

“Forecasts had Cyclone Vaianu as a category 2 event, and locally it was expected to be more about wind and ocean swell than rainfall.”

A Civil Defence centre set up at Hastings Sports Centre with beds and supplies for potential evacuees during Cyclone Vaianu. Photo / Hastings District Council

But the region’s other mayors and HBRC’s chair say acting early based on the best information they had at the time was the responsible thing to do.

Multiple reports found the region’s response to the incoming Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 - which then caused widespread carnage and plunged the region into a state of disaster - was inadequate.

HBRC chairwoman Sophie Siers said that while some people would question the strength of the response to Vaianu, she thanked those who acted on the advice, evacuated when asked, stayed off the roads and away from the coast, and secured their properties.

Sea foam flies over pea-bund banks designed to help prevent storm surge in Westshore, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

“When people take those steps, it means our first responders aren’t being put in harm’s way carrying out rescues in the dark and in dangerous conditions, and they can focus on delivering support where it’s most needed,” Siers said.

“We are operating in a changing climate, and we have to strike the right balance, giving early warnings without jumping at every drop of rain.”

She said they would always prioritise safety and make sure the events of Gabrielle were not repeated.

“I’m incredibly proud of our Civil Defence teams and our communities for ensuring that, if the cyclone had taken its worst path, our region was ready.”

Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum said the area was “lucky” this time.

“All forecasts had Cyclone Vaianu tracking directly toward Hawke’s Bay, and people were asked to act on that information to keep themselves safe,” Schollum said.

“Late on Sunday, the system shifted east, which reduced the impact for us, but that wasn’t something we could assume would happen.”

She said they couldn’t take chances with people’s lives and safety and that waiting until conditions were severe was often too late.

“If we face a similar situation again, the message will be the same, take it seriously and act early,” Schollum said.

CHB Mayor Will Foley said every time there was an event like this, the council learned from the past.

“Everyone responded in good time and yes, we have learned lessons from Gabrielle,” Foley said.

“We respond to the information given to us by weather forecasts and flood modelling.

“In hindsight, we don’t want to be in a position of crying wolf, but I’d rather do that than not do enough.”

He said everyone had gone back to their daily lives on Monday.

“If it were worse, we would be in recovery now and that’s costly.

“Let’s be thankful.

“The farmers are actually grinning from ear to ear. We needed rain before it got too cold to grow grass.”

Napier Mayor Richard McGrath said he was happy with the response.

“Once bitten, twice shy - everyone underestimated Gabrielle.”

Beachgoers at Westshore Beach during Cyclone Vaianu. Photo / Warren Buckland

He said the info they had indicated it was going to be bad and so they went out early with messaging.

“We can’t predict what will happen. Mother nature has its own rules,” McGrath said.

He said it was good to see the lessons learned from Gabrielle in action.

“The expectation is that there will be more of these weather events.

“We are doing things better and so is the community.”

Little said in a later statement that Wairoa and, particularly, Mahia, Mahanga and Morere, had suffered some impacts, with more than 1000 properties affected by power outages and a lot of trees falling across roads.

Some people were stranded overnight on Sunday due to road closures.

“I understand many people still experience extreme weather event anxiety and feel worried when events of this magnitude are forecasted,” Little said.

“Our team remained vigilant over the weekend, stayed connected with communities across the district, and was ready to respond as needed.

“We don’t take standing up our Civil Defence team lightly, and our response to Cyclone Vaianu was in line with the level of risk and information we received.”

He urged the community to learn from Vaianu and be prepared for any event that might hit the region.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.