‘My overwhelming feelings at the time were partly fear and panic, but mainly helplessness and powerlessness. For a time there was nowhere to hide from the forces of nature …’ Brian Hollis remembers the Wahine storm of 1968.
When we asked people in the community to send us in their personal stories of surviving a natural disaster, we expected the accounts of earthquakes and floods. We were surprised at the number who told of battling wind and rain. Here are five of the stories.
What's your story?
Last car through
For Bob Maysmor and others in Eastbourne, the Wahine storm of 1968 brought terror, exhilaration and sadness.
Nowhere to hide
Brian Hollis was used to a bit of breeze in Wellington, but he was not prepared for what hit him in April 1968.
Wind-blown
A serious wind storm hit Canterbury in August 1975. It caused spectacular damage, as John Fletcher discovered on his way to work.
Camping in a cyclone
Ten-year-old Gemma Price won her school speech competition with this story of a family holiday.
