'Just kept coming': Wairoa mayor on his late-night flood emergency declaration

Author: Michaela Gower,
Publish Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2026, 1:43pm

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said the decision to declare a state of emergency was made because of an incoming high tide.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says his state of emergency declaration in the face of impending flooding was an easy call to make, as emergency services in the town were stretched and high tide was coming.

So far, 14 homes have been yellow-stickered after the Wairoa River burst its banks late on Thursday evening.

Kopu Rd and side streets in its vicinity were evacuated, with around 50 registered evacuees spending the night in the War Memorial Hall.

“It was one that just didn’t stop coming; it just kept coming and coming and coming,” Little said of the rain.

Little said he was in contact with people in flooding areas, and with Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell, before high tide was expected at 12.45am on Friday.

He said he was told the water was rising rapidly and emergency services were getting “tapped out”.

“That’s why we had to call a state of emergency because our emergency services were stretched,” he said.

Little earlier this year called for authorities to not use state of emergency conditions “willy nilly” after Cyclone Vaianu tracked over the country with little incident, despite many councils pre-emptively declaring an emergency as a precaution.

He said his decision on Thursday was based on whether he felt people’s lives and properties were in danger and whether the emergency services were handling the situation.

“Once it gets into the night, you are not really sure what you have got ahead of you,” Little said.

The Wairoa River burst its banks on Thursday night.

“You are better to call it earlier, as we did, rather than 2am or 3am.”

The state of emergency was lifted roughly 16 hours later at 3.34pm on Friday.

Little said the community was “resilient to this kind of thing” and “they are not blaming anybody”.

“The river was our lifeline, and it is a beautiful river, but sometimes it can be a bit unpredictable.”

Wairoa deputy fire chief Te Arohanui Cook said 13 volunteer firefighters had responded to Kopu Rd flooding from 8pm on Thursday.

“The water had just started to breach at the low point on Kopu Rd at Sturdee St.”

She said the majority of people in low-lying areas had chosen to self-evacuate before dark or after the initial door knocks from firefighters between 8pm and 9pm.

“In some places, we started with ankle-deep, and then knee-deep water, and it just kept getting deeper and deeper.

“We are basically fighting against nature in terms of the rapid rise.

“It was also still raining and blowing a gale, so not the best conditions.”

She said that as the evening went on, it was unsafe to have firefighters “wading through flood waters”, with waves battering the area.

“There is always that risk that firefighters or volunteers can potentially become victims while trying to save others.”

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.