Lucky to be alive! AMBER'S CYCLONE SILVER LINING

A survivor tells of the night one dream ended and another began

- Kasia Jillings

My grandfather bought the Karekare house in 1963, then mum bought it in the '90s from her siblings.

It was rustic and cosy, really simple but beautiful, tucked up on the hill. When the storms came raging up the valley, I always felt safe.

Once an enormous storm took out power for 10 days, so we always knew to have enough food and water.

We were well prepared for Cyclone Gabrielle too, but no one expected it to hit like it did.

It had been raining all day and by the evening, I was restlessly pacing around when I heard a thud and about a foot of mud had slid down and hit the back of the house.

I tried to shut the window but it was warped from the impact.

That was the first sign.

A few minutes later, there was another thud. Pauly checked outside and a metre of mud had come down. I knew we had to get out. My daughter was in front of me and I was pushing her, propelling her forward.

The ground was coming apart beneath our feet and I heard this cracking sound, which was everything shattering.

My husband turned around to look and saw our house go. Our daughter's bedroom was upside down on the road about 20 metres below, and our bedroom broke away and ended up wedged in a põhutukawa tree.

It was unbelievable. I just bent over and put my head between my knees like, 'What just happened?'