‘I could see her floating away’: Mother reveals daughter, two, was swept off her shoulders to her death in New Zealand floods as 4,500 remain missing and temporary mortuaries are set up following deadly cyclone

• Ella Louise Collins recounted the moment her young daughter was swept away
• Ivy, 2, is one of at least nine people to have died with over 4,500 still missing

A grieving mother has told of her agony at watching her two-year-old swept away to her death amid heavy flooding in New Zealand brought about by deadly Cyclone Gabrielle.

Ella Louise Collins, from the worst-hit east side of North Island, said she was carrying her young daughter Ivy on her shoulders as she waded through the submerged street outside their house when the pair were overwhelmed by a surge of water.

‘The water just came up behind me… it lifted Ivy off my shoulders and I went under. When I came up, I could see her floating away,’ Collins told New Zealand outlet Stuff.

Collins, her husband Jack and their four-year-old daughter Imogen survived the ordeal but Ivy tragically drowned amid the disaster. The two-year-old’s body was found a day later by search and rescue workers two doors down from the Collins family home.

Collins said her late daughter ‘charged through life with a beautiful smile on her face regardless of what stood in her way’ and said her family ‘lived such rich and love-filled days’ with her.

Ella Louise Collins, from the worst-hit east side of North Island, said she was carrying her young daughter Ivy (centre) on her shoulders through floodwater while her husband Jack carried four-year-old Imogen (right)

A surge of water ripped Ivy off Ella’s shoulders and swept her away to her death

A supplied image shows an overhead view of the floodwaters from Cyclone Gabrielle in suburban Napier, on Thursday, February 16, 2023

Workers clear the mud and debris from the Redclyffe Substation following Cyclone Gabrielle, in Napier on February 17, 2023

Ivy is one of at least nine people to have died since the cyclone struck the country’s north on Monday, bringing widespread flooding, landslides and power outages.

Though the death toll remains in single digits for now, more than 4,500 are still unaccounted for and authorities have set up two temporary morgues to accommodate bodies amid expectations the casualty figures will increase considerably.

Temporary morgues have been set up in coastal towns Napier and Hastings, a police spokesperson told Stuff.

‘The facilities have been established as a precaution to ensure that any fatalities can be managed with care and respect, and in accordance with coronial processes. They are held there before being taken to a mortuary,’ police said.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the police held ‘grave fears’ for other missing people.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, left, and Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group Controller Ian McDonald survey cyclone Gabrielle damage to the Esk Valley, north of Napier, New Zealand, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023

Homes & belongings inundated by mud & silt following Cyclone Gabrielle on February 17, 2023 in Gisborne, New Zealand

A handout photo taken on 16 February, 2023 and received on February 17 from the New Zealand Defence Force shows army trucks delivering aid near Napier

A handout photo taken on 16 February, 2023 and received on February 17 from the New Zealand Defence Force shows an army truck navigating floodwaters near Napier

‘Police report that there are 4,549 persons reported as uncontactable. A team of 80 people are working now to narrow down this list as quickly as possible and to prioritise contact with those who are most likely to be missing,’ he told reporters.

Mr Hipkins said he did not know how far the death toll would climb.

‘The thing is we don’t know. We’re not talking huge numbers,’ he said.

‘It’s not like I’m aware that there are lots and lots and lots out there that we’re not reporting. We’re still picking up one or two (fatalities) at a time.’

Mr Hipkins also said police had not specified to him how many people were considered to be of serious concern, but ‘there are several people that they are very concerned about’.

A team of 25 Australian disaster response experts arrived on Friday to help local authorities.

The North Island east coast around New Zealand’s most populous city, Auckland, has been hardest hit and several communities remained isolated on Friday.

Auckland was swamped two weeks ago by a record-breaking storm that killed four people.

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