He found his wife, Bethany Edmunds-Cook, walking toward their studio. <\/p>\n
She told Cook their two daughters were helping their 74-year-old nan at her whare. <\/p>\n
Knowing their children were safe, the pair began moving items in the studio higher, in case of floodwaters. <\/p>\n
Cook looked out from the studio and saw the water surging.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, in 15 minutes [the water] went from ankles up to knees.\u201d<\/p>\n
The winds were howling, Cook said.<\/p>\n
Needing to go to their daughters, the couple stepped off the deck of the studio into cold water that reached their hips.<\/p>\n
They waded 50m to Bethany\u2019s mother\u2019s home. Inside, were their daughters standing in waist-deep water.<\/p>\n
From left, Bethany Edmunds-Cook, Anaru Cook, 7-year-old Kapowairua and 10-year-old Tuituia.<\/p>\n
The youngest daughter, 7-year-old Kapowairua, was crying. <\/p>\n
Cook hooked his daughter under his arm and carried her about 30m against the current to higher ground. He headed back for 10-year-old Tuituia. <\/p>\n
By then, the water had reached his chest. <\/p>\n
Once Tuituia was safe, Cook found his mother-in-law. She was in the kitchen desperately trying to save her belongings. <\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the worry and concern in her eyes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cook told her to head to higher ground and went to save her van, which had miraculously started. <\/p>\n
He drove it a few metres before water rose over the windscreen and it stopped, blocking the only access to the property.<\/p>\n
Cook grabbed a tow hook from his four-wheel-drive and with it in his hand, submerged himself in the floodwaters to find the hook point. <\/p>\n
His legs were pulled downstream as he held onto the grill. <\/p>\n
When he resurfaced, Bethany told him to leave the van. Together they headed to higher ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we could do was just watch that flood come in,\u201d Cook said.<\/p>\n
As the water rose, it crept closer to their home.<\/p>\n
To stay safe, the couple sent their daughters to their aunties, and Bethany went to her father\u2019s home. Cook stayed behind.<\/p>\n
Floodwaters building up on Thursday afternoon amid a red heavy rain warning. <\/p>\n
Seeing the torrent and debris made him wonder how they would manage in the coming days. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, you only see this stuff on movies … when you\u2019re in it, you just have an out-of-body experience,\u201d Cook said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see everything happening around me … watching myself … struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n
By morning, everything in their studio was flood-damaged. Two vehicles were waterlogged and caked in mud. Floodwaters had engulfed the whole of Bethany\u2019s mother\u2019s home. <\/p>\n
Miraculously, the couple\u2019s home was undamaged, but Cook said they had lost 70% of their livelihood – all uninsured.<\/p>\n
After floodwaters receded, the scale of devastation could be seen, including the level of debris left.
Vehicles were left caked in mud after floodwaters surged through.<\/p>\n
He said his music records and DJ gear could be replaced but not their teaching resources or Bethany\u2019s taonga collection. <\/p>\n