50 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Hawke’s Bay: EIT Campus - Gemco Group T T Kim Newth Bringing the EIT campus back to life It has been a long road to recovery for the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) Hawke’s Bay campus at Taradale. T T to page 52 It has been a long road to recovery for the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) Hawke’s Bay campus, after Cyclone Gabrielle flooded the Taradale site on February14, 2023. Today, the campus community is in good heart, with almost 70% of the buildings now up and running again. “In the lead-up to the flood, we had only just opened for the semester, literally the day before,” recalls EIT executive director of operations, Glen Harkness. “Our executive had looked at the forecast for the following day and made the decision that it would not be safe to open. It proved to be a wise call, because on the morning of 14th February water breached the stop-bank across the road, flooding the campus just as staff and students would have been arriving for the day.” Up to 90% of the campus’ ground-floor spaces – or more than 500 rooms – were damaged by the water and silt that came flooding in that day. Hawke’s Bay’s Gemco Construction team was quick to respond in EIT’s hour of need. “Within days of the cyclone, they were on site assessing the damage and supporting EIT’s recovery teams. “Staff salvaged as much as they could, as well as pulling up soaked and muddy carpets. Wall linings and insulation were then removed to allow wall frames to dry out ahead of repairs and reconstruction. Eastern Institute Of Technology, Hawkes Bay EIT Ad - Sept '24.indd 1 10/09/2024 2:53:34 pm Give us a call and one of our experienced team members will be happy to chat about your project! Proudly supporting EIT Campus
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