New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay is known for its fine wine, but many of the region’s vineyards are now under water, along with homes and roads in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We can’t continue the way that we have been going. We are going to see more of these types of weather events. So we have to be prepared.” Many towns and cities sit on their banks — established to take advantage of access to ports and trade routes, which for a long time has served communities well. “They’re occurring over sea surface temperatures that are warmer than they were. The atmosphere is warmer and it’s holding more moisture, so there’s just more fuel, more energy available that makes them more intense, it makes them more damaging,” he said. “It makes the winds a little bit stronger. It makes the rainfall more significant.”