Stables at Levin Showgrounds on Tiro Trio Rd were flattened by the tornado.
Stables at Levin Showgrounds on Tiro Trio Rd were flattened by the tornado.
Horowhenua District Council's tornado response has now moved to recovery mode with a relief fund still available to those experiencing hardship.
Three families were still in emergency accommodation while eight more required welfare support after their homes were deemed uninhabitable following the tornado last Friday.
HDC's wide-ranging response to the tornado included establishing a Mayoral Relief Fund, which so far raised $263,461.
Anyone impacted by the tornado event could qualify for financial assistance from the Mayoral Relief Fund, with applications closing on Monday, June 13 at 5pm.
HDC chief executive Monique Davidson said they had received requests for help ranging from welfare support to tree felling, debris clean up and building assessments.
"We acknowledge that for some the journey to recovering from this traumatic event may be long. Please know that support is there in many ways from a range of organisations, including council," she said.
The fund would be considered for anyone that had damaged property, required essentials for daily life, had incurred costs not covered by insurance, were financially burdened due to the tornado event, or costs towards counselling.
"As people apply, they could be given $1000 upfront. Once we get to 13 June, we will assess how much funding we have remaining and make a decision on how to allocate the remaining amount to applicants. We are aware that some families have been impacted severely.
The entire roof was blown from Lisa Miller's home in Strathmore Ave by the Levin tornado.
There had been 13 applications for assistance from the fund so far, which would go to elected members early next week for consideration. Those that were accepted should receive grants by Friday.
HDC had led a wide-ranging tornado response that was ongoing, including caring for the welfare of affected residents and safety assessments of buildings.
There were 11 families or individuals requiring welfare support being cared for by the welfare team, three of those families remain in emergency accommodation.
HDC received in excess of 130 requests for help from people and organisations impacted by the tornado event.
There were 51 buildings assessed for structural damage, a number of buildings have required placards to be placed on them.
There were 20 buildings - 17 residential and three commercial - where no access was allowed, while four buildings had yellow placards allowing restricted access only.
Ben Ricketts, Hudson Rhodes and Harry Rickets work hard to clear a tree stump in Goldsmith Cres felled by the Levin tornado.
The community-wide clean-up operation was staged on the weekend involving 250 volunteers, and while the clean-up was still going, the majority of the work had been done.
Figures from the clean-up showed just how much rubbish needed removing. There was 300m3 of greenwaste dropped at a designated collection point in Donnelly Park, of which 70m3 was repurposed on the parks and reserves or given back to people to use.
HDC contractor Higgins collected 150m3 of rubbish and greenwaste, while three skip bins of glass and general waste were filled at Donnelly Park.
To enable for weekend sport at Donnelly Park, the greenwaste and glass collection point has now finished. As the majority of property clean-up is complete, kerbside pick-ups had stopped.
More information and application forms were available online or in person at HDC's Civic Building where a member of the welfare response team was on hand to help, or by visiting www.horowhenua.govt.nz/MayoralReliefFund or phoning 06 366 0999.
If businesses or individuals would like to contribute to the Mayoral Relief Fund, they could donate using the following bank account – 02-0668-0070607-002 (Account name: Horowhenua District Council, ref "Relief fund").
There was additional help and support for anyone experiencing feelings of anxiety, stress, prolonged fear, hopelessness or anger, or you just need to talk with someone, you can text or phone 1737 for free to speak to a trained counsellor.
There was also Ministry of Social Development (MSD) support available. Contact MSD on 0800 559 009 and let them know you have been impacted by the tornado.
