Cyclone Gabrielle relief funding for Northland

Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread damage, flooding and chaos across Northland when it hit in February, such as this incident at Kissing Point, Whangārei. The Red Cross New Zealand Disaster Fund has given out hundreds of thousands of dollars for cyclone relief in the region

The Red Cross New Zealand Disaster Fund has given out hundreds of thousands of dollars for Cyclone Gabrielle relief in Northland, with more likely to come.

Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread flooding, slips, destruction and general chaos when it hit the country from February 12-16 this year, with Northland one of the worst-affected regions.

The cyclone and other weather events this year have caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to the region’s roading network and other infrastructure. Cyclone Gabrielle also saw a state of emergency declared in Northland.

Red Cross set up a disaster fund to help provide relief to communities and organisations hit hard by the cyclone and those who helped with the recovery efforts.

The fund has so far committed around $15.6 million to initiatives supporting people affected by the cyclone and other severe weather events. The fund has received $27m in donations.

So far, more than $318,000 has been directly given to Northland organisations involved in the weather recovery efforts, and hundreds of thousands more to national organisations that deal with all the affected areas, including Northland.

The fund has two arms - the Partnership Grants Programme that gives funds to community organisations and other entities supporting community recovery, and the Response and Recovery Programme that supports the immediate emergency response and is helping communities recover by providing goods, services and people.

The Response and Recovery Programme provided goods and materials to support community response and recovery, for example generators, first aid kits, dehumidifiers, water blasters or clean-up kits.

Generators were flown in to Northland to help communities cut off during Cyclone Gabrielle earlier this year

Funds delivered in Northland include (organisation - amount - purpose):

■ Te Roopu Whakamana Charitable Trust - $65,000 - Community transport and mental wellbeing.

■ Ngunguru Marae Trust - $50,000 - Resources for marae used as an evacuation hub.

■ The Little Decant NZ - $8,000 - Emergency accommodation for displaced whānau.

■ Whakapara Marae Trust - $50,000 - Community response centre.

■ Akerama Marae - $31,997 - Repair wharekai, remove debris, and replace chiller.

■ Matakohe Community Group- - $3,000 - Generators.

■ Omaha Marae Trust - $50,000 - Building repairs, replacing mattresses and water filtration system.

■ Takahiwai Marae Committee - $10,000 - Emergency response equipment.

■ Te Houhanga Marae - $20,968 - Funding to support the purchase of bedding, clean-up supplies and food.

■ Whānau Focus Centre (Kaipara Abuse Prevention) - $29,949 - Funding to help with the mental health and wellbeing of 30 families.

■ New Zealand Red Cross - $17,083 - Generators for the Far North.

Mike Dinsdale is a news director and senior journalist who covers general news for the Advocate. He has worked in Northland for almost 34 years and loves the region.