Just 24 hours after a glorious day at Teahupoo, where the sun shined rainbows through spray from 15 foot barrels, an altogether different situation unfolded. Mid-morning, as surfers either relived tales over a coffee and baguette or hurriedly scraped the dregs from the dropping swell, a heavily-laden storm cell dropped its contents on the hills behind Teahupoo.

Tim Bonython, who was in Tahiti to film yesterday's swell, had just got to the lineup for a second day of filming when the mayhem began:

"Once we got out there, BOOM, the heavens released probably the heaviest rain in the history of the place. After videoing for about ten minutes the rain and lightning got so crazy that we thought it might be a good idea to head in. Vetea David and his partner Tahina rounded up all the surfers and gave them all a lift in. Lightning was flashing everywhere with a constant rumble of thunder."

The village of Teahupoo lies on a small flood plain between the mountains and the sea, with the collected rainfall from the valley turning the creek into a torrent, eventually bursting its banks and flooding the whole village. Nine cars ended up in the sea, as did innumerable household items gathered by the cascading waters.

The bungalow Tim was renting was inundated but fortunately his computer, holding all the footage of yesterday's waves, was stored beyond reach of the flood waters. An almost trivial concern against a catalogue of destruction.

A crowdfunding account has been established by Hinatea Boosie who writes:

"We lost our houses, we lost our cars, some families lost everything! We need you! The river broke and most of the houses nearby were underwater.

"My name is Hinatea and I will try to raise as much as possible money or anything to help the local community here. Thank you for sharing!"

And while you're in the mood for giving, Greg Long has established a GoFundMe account for Tom Lowe who hit the bottom at Teahupoo, broke six ribs and was airlifted to hospital in Papeete. French authorities won't allow him to leave until his bill is squared away and Tom's medical insurance won't cover it.

Long is hoping to raise all $30K with the total currently sitting just over $10,000.