Cyclone Gabrielle: Fletcher Building latest Kiwi business to make big donation to Red Cross and NZ Herald/NZME disaster relief fundraiser

New Zealand businesses are coming together to help those affected by the devastation Cyclone Gabrielle has inflicted on parts of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island.

Today, Fletcher Building announced the company is donating $250,000 to the Red Cross fund to support the delivery of vital assistance to those in need.

“It has been heartbreaking to see the scale of the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Across our business, we have people and teams who have been directly impacted and many others who have friends and loved ones in the area,” Fletcher Building chief executive Ross Taylor said.

“I know everyone at Fletcher Building will be supporting the work that the Red Cross is doing on the ground, ensuring local communities get the help they need in the most effective way.”

Yesterday, TAB New Zealand confirmed an $11,250 donation was made by the company to the New Zealand Red Cross fundraiser for Cyclone Gabrielle relief, backed by NZ Herald and NZME. The donation represents $25 on behalf of each of TAB’s 450-strong team.

Launched last Friday, the New Zealand Red Cross fundraiser for Cyclone Gabrielle relief, backed by NZ Herald and NZME, reached $5 million yesterday, thanks to the donations made by many generous Kiwis.

Over the weekend, the fundraiser reached $2m, with New Zealanders stunned by the scale of the devastation inflicted on parts of the North Island. Shortly after, ASB announced it would match that number, taking the fundraiser campaign to $4m.

Donations can be made here: New Zealand Disaster Fund | New Zealand Red Cross

The fund was launched to support the work of New Zealand Red Cross on the response and recovery to Cyclone Gabrielle.

A lone sheep and ducks at Pine Hollow Riding School at Te Karaka on the East Coast after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through the region bringing wind and rain. Photo / Rebecca Grunwell

There are now 11 confirmed dead almost a week after the cyclone smashed across large swathes of the North Island, most devastatingly in the island’s east. The latest deaths were a person found in their home in the Napier suburb of Onekawa on Thursday, and a person found in Crownthorpe, near Hastings, on Saturday night, police said.

Grave concerns remain for others.

“This going to be big,” Hipkins told reporters at a National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) briefing in Wellington on Sunday.

Power remains an issue for many communities on the eastern coast of the North Island and Hipkins said 28,000 homes, mostly in Napier and Hastings, remained without electricity.

A car through a house on Shaw Rd in Eskdale near Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

As of Sunday afternoon, 6000 people were registered as uncontactable, with 3000 people found to be safe as the lost and found numbers see-saw daily.

What is the New Zealand Disaster Fund?

It is a fund to support the work of New Zealand Red Cross on the response and recovery to Cyclone Gabrielle, providing essential supplies such as stretchers, blankets, bedding and hygiene kits, deploying satellite phones, generators and other equipment.

This also includes providing crucial psychosocial support and practical help to those who have been forced to leave their homes.

The fund will also be used by New Zealand Red Cross to help New Zealand communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from future emergencies and disasters.

This includes:

• initial and ongoing response
• replacing supplies and equipment
• community recovery
• preparing for and building capacity to respond to future emergencies and disasters, and
• partnering with others to help meet communities’ needs associated with emergencies and disasters

Secretary General of the New Zealand Red Cross Sarah Stuart-Black, also known as Norm, told Newstalk ZB’s Kerre Woodham that the New Zealand Red Cross is working with local agencies to ensure the fund is used where most needed, including working with the Mayoral Disaster Relief Fund.

“Let’s say a Mayoral Disaster Relief Fund is going to look at individual needs... if that’s the case, we will look at how we can support them, to provide money to those affected household,” Stuart-Black said.

“There will certainly be help and support available for households that have been affected.

“We want to make sure we are in a position to support the needs right now and in the weeks ahead in communities that have been impacted. That includes Auckland and Northland as well.

“We want to be able to provide support to all those people that are doing it tough.”

She also clarified that the New Zealand Red Cross does not take an administrative charge from each donation, as this is a special appeal. All of the money donated goes directly to help those who need it.

If you can, please donate to the appeal by clicking redcross.org.nz/nz-disaster-fund. No amount is too small.

If you can’t donate at the moment, one easy, practical way to help is to share this appeal with others around you.

According to the New Zealand Red Cross, the best way to help in a situation like this is to make a monetary donation. “We are not collecting clothes or goods, as sorting, managing and distributing donated items during an emergency takes an extensive amount of time and resources.

“With people needing emergency supplies immediately, the best, most efficient way you can help make sure the right assistance reaches them when they need it most is by making a monetary donation. By donating money, you make sure local communities get help in the most effective way.”

The New Zealand Red Cross has teams on the ground in the affected areas, and working with emergency management services to prioritise where to send their trained Disaster Welfare and Support Teams (DWSTs).

DWST members are currently assisting in Civil Defence Centres in Northland, Hawke’s Bay, and the Coromandel. They are working alongside emergency management agencies and providing psychosocial support.

NZ Red Cross equipment such as stretchers, hygiene kits, generators and bedding have been delivered to Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Palmerston North to assist local emergency management agencies.

NZME chief executive Michael Boggs says the company is determined to do whatever it can to support those impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

“The events have been catastrophic for communities across the North Island and the need for support is critical. At NZME we have a presence across all the communities that have been affected, with many of our staff, our customers, our readers and our listeners living in or having loved ones in those areas. I know everyone across NZME will be getting right behind this cause, promoting and supporting it however we can, to ensure we raise as much money as possible for those in need,” he said.

The New Zealand Defence Force continues to commit more resources by mobilising and establishing ships, aircraft, vehicles, communications equipment and personnel across the North Island. Photo / NZDF

New Zealand Red Cross general manager of engagement and enterprise, Shane Chisholm said: “New Zealand Red Cross are proud to be teaming up with the NZ Herald and NZME to support those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and help ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand is well prepared for emergencies in the future.”

NZME managing editor Shayne Currie said: “The NZ Herald is committed to keeping Kiwis in the know with extensive coverage of the devastating events - and we want to help further. Through our digital, print and radio channels, we are encouraging our audience to donate. Big or small, every donation helps.”

The full scale of the destruction and loss brought on by Gabrielle might not be known for some time — but what we do know is this is already one of the most significant disasters in New Zealand history.