One month on, community still coming to terms with Whakaari/White Island tragedy

January 9, 2020

One month on, the community is still coming to terms with the December 9 tragedy.

Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner admits she still thinks a lot about December 9 - the day so many lives were lost, and many more injured after Whakaari/White Island erupted with tourists and guides on it.

"At present it is something that is definitely in my mind a lot and that's, I guess, that's normal for people," Ms Turner told 1 NEWS today.

"I think that's probably where the community is at – it's not something we've walked away from and forgotten."

Nineteen people died after the eruption - the bodies of two not recovered, while seriously injured survivors remain in hospitals in New Zealand and Australia.

Ms Turner said people in the region needed a holiday break after the tragedy.

"While it was slightly ironic, it was also therapeutic, I think, that we went straight into Christmas the New Year where you traditionally have your family around you and that makes you really grateful for all you've got and gives you back some perspective.

Remarkably, instead of fleeing, the boat returned to the island to aid the rescue effort.

"One of the remaining challenges for all of us is that you can't forget for a minute that there are people in hospitals up and down this country who are challenged by some incredible injuries that are not going to be fixed as easily as most other injuries, burns are a particular type of injury, and so I guess whenever my mind returned to those people it was a sobering thought."

Ms Turner said the main priority now is supporting victims and their families, as well as those who had been affected in terms of their job and business security.

"The Government’s given them some money and we need to be able to help them," she said.

Ms Turner also said recovering as a community was important, including "making sense of this occasion and how we reacted and what needs to happen, and how we regroup as a community a bit I think".

Defence Force special operations component commander Rian McKinstry talked about the challenges soldiers faced Friday.

When asked how the community were coping so far, Ms Turner said, "it's obviously something we talk about a lot and talking helps".

She also said they had been well supported by the local iwi - Ngāti Awa.

"Iwi just have an amazing way of helping us face the issues of life and death in a very upfront way," she said, adding that even some international visitors commented on how they felt supported by iwi despite not understanding the language.

"After every crisis you always have a time where you reflect and assess what you did. We are a region that's unfortunately had quite a few natural disasters and so we’re in a place where we assemble support for each other quite quickly, understand how to do that quite well.

"The difference between this and anything else we've ever faced is 1. That there's been deaths. 2. That we've had at least two families for whom bodies were not recovered and that's a double-whammy for them I guess, and the third thing is that the injuries sustained by those who are still in hospital are significant and recovery is a long journey for them.

"We've never dealt with anything quite like that."

Ms Turner didn't have an update to give on patient conditions, but said she trusts the hospitals were doing good by them.

She said visitors number were still strong in the region, adding there were more natural and cultural opportunities for people to visit.

But they want to make it clear they haven’t given up.

SHARE ME

More Stories