Sally Patterson and Amanda Kerr arrived with some tools from Bunnings for the tornado volunteer clean up.
Sally Patterson and Amanda Kerr arrived with some tools from Bunnings for the tornado volunteer clean up.
The Horowhenua New Zealand Trust will be making a contribution of $50,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund established to assist the community affected by last Friday's tornado.
Horowhenua New Zealand Trust chairman Antony Young said, "The trustees felt strongly that we needed to be able to provide support where we can, as quickly as we can. On Monday night we gave the green light to release these funds to the Mayoral Relief Fund."
"We felt it important to step up and do what we could to put back to the community at this moment of need," Young said.
Horowhenua District Council has set up a cross-functional recovery team. Aware that there are still people and properties in need of assistance, council staff and contractors are working through the remaining requests for help.
Chief executive Monique Davidson encouraged her team to do what it takes to ensure people affected by Friday's severe weather are safe and taken care of.
She talked about an example this morning where a family were without hot water due to damage to their property, and council through the Mayoral Relief Fund was able to deploy an electrician and plumber to help.
"It may seem like this is a private matter, but the generosity of council, central government and community means that for our families most impacted, we are able to make life a little easier and assist in their time of need.
"Obviously, our assistance will need to be aligned with the impact of the event, but if people genuinely need help, we will support them as best we can," said Davidson.
"There will be a time in the near future when we will need to discontinue the green waste and glass collection service at Donnelly Park and the kerbside debris collection, but for now we will continue that service as there is clearly a need.
Volunteers were given tools to help in the tornado clean-up donated by Bunnings.
"Where we can, any debris that can be repurposed and given back to our community, for example firewood or mulch, we'll try our best to make this happen," she said.
The Urban Search and Rescue team carried out rapid building assessments on those buildings affected by the severe weather event on Friday. Council building advisers have now assessed 15 buildings, with a priority on those that suffered the most severe damage.
Eight buildings have been red stickered, deeming them uninhabitable. Of those buildings, two are commercial and six residential. Seven buildings initially classified as having moderate damage have now been assessed and yellow stickered.
A further 20 buildings with moderate to minor damage will have assessments completed tomorrow.
One oaktree survived, its neighbour was uprooted and had to be cut down after the tornado.
Civil Defence Emergency Management local controller Lisa Slade said some buildings require structural integrity assessments. In those cases, external engineers have been engaged to assess the level of damage and provide recommendations on whether ongoing occupation is safe.
"Our building advisers have made attempts to contact all building owners that have been red stickered, but are yet to get a hold of everyone. Please get in contact with council if this applies to you by calling 06 366 0999."
A house in Goldsmith Crescent in Levin will need tile repair after the tornado.
"If your recycling wheelie bin or crate is lost or damaged as a result of Friday's severe weather event, we will replace or repair them free of charge, please just give us a call.
"You might need to be patient with us, though, as the building that stores some of this stock was damaged also. Depending on how many requests we receive, it may take us a bit of time to replace stock."
If you have kerbside debris waiting to be picked up, please contact council on 06 366 0999.
• 38 requests for assistance with cleaning up properties and removing debris
• Two dogs and three displaced cats are still being cared for by our animal welfare team.
•15 buildings assessed; eight classified as uninhabitable, seven yellow stickered (meaning moderate damage but still liveable) and 20 are left to be assessed.
• Electra has confirmed all power outages that were a result of Friday's event have been restored.
If you have been affected by Friday's severe weather event and have immediate welfare needs, please call council on 06 366 0999.
If you need support or advice, or have 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.
Tornado damage to the Levin Container rubbish building.
MSD is available to assist those in the community that have been directly affected by the event. Contact MSD on 0800 559 009 and let them know you have been affected by the tornado.
A Mayoral Relief Fund has been established, with Horowhenua District Council contributing $100,000 and Minister for Emergency Management Kiritapu Allan confirming that central government would match that contribution.
The Horowhenua New Zealand Trust has contributed $50,000. If businesses or individuals would like to contribute, they can donate using the following bank account – 02-0668-0070607-002 (Account name: Horowhenua District Council, ref "Relief fund").
If you think you may qualify for financial assistance, the Mayoral Relief Fund application form and criteria will be available online and in person by noon on Tuesday, May 24.
