Of all the terrifying and tragic stories starting to emerge from the East Coast, many of them are coming from the Hawke’s Bay region.

These images from Eskdale, north of Napier, show just how powerful the floodwaters were and the extent of the damage they caused 

This is also where a two-year-old girl was tragically swept away in the flash floods.

Ivy is one of at least six confirmed deaths as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Her mum, pregnant Ella Collins and her dad Jack, managed to get their other daughter Imogen to safety but have been left devastated by their loss.

“The water was about 10cm from the ceiling in our house and rose extremely quickly and violently,” Ella wrote in a Facebook post.

“We were unable to make it to higher ground due to a sudden torrent of water which almost drowned us all and took Ivy,” she said. 

Ella added that her husband was “a literal fucking hero” and that neither she, her unborn baby, or their eldest daughter Imogen would have survived without him.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alyse Hedley

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“We knew it was coming and to be ready, but no one knew how bad it was going to be here.”