Tauranga busker The One Man Jam raises more than $500 for Edgecumbe flooding evacuees

Kraig Rimaha playing outside Pak'nSave Tauranga. Photo/Supplied

A local man has raised more than $500 for Edgecumbe flooding evacuees by busking solo outside a Tauranga supermarket.

Kraig Rimaha, who plays under the name The One Man Jam, took his electric guitar and amplifier to Pak'nSave in Cameron Rd on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Mr Rimaha was out for about seven hours in total and raised $514.90, to be used wherever needed in Edgecumbe.

"Seeing it under water is really disheartening for families there," Mr Rimaha said.

"All I did was put a sign up . . . It's not much, but I hope it'll help out some people.

The donation bucket was labelled with a sign "Donations for Edgecumbe".

Mr Rimaha said the money would be donated to the Mayoral Flood Appeal Givealittle donation fund which has raised more than $21,000 so far. Individual donors have given from $5 up to at least $2000.

He said he usually wouldn't make anywhere near $500, and praised donors for their generosity and community spirit.

Mr Rimaha grew up in Edgecumbe as a teenager and has family still living there. He said their houses on Hydro Rd were affected but not as badly as many others.

"My family's there, so it was a no-brainer for me.

"A lot of the locals were pretty impressed I think . . . [they said] 'thank you for helping out our whanau'."

All I did was put a sign up . . . It's not much, but I hope it'll help out some people.

Kraig Rimaha

He said he plays a mix of music and genres "so I can please everybody". He said he tends toward classic rock, such as Dire Straits, the Eagles and Pink Floyd.

"Everybody's just amazed because I can play [Dire Straits] with my eyes closed," he laughed.

Meanwhile, Mount Maunganui College principal Russell Gordon has called on the school community to help affected Edgecumbe residents with food donations.

"I have been in contact with the principal at Edgecumbe College to offer our solidarity and support in their time of need," Mr Gordon said in an email to parents and families yesterday morning.

"The principal said that their greatest need was non-perishable food and he has asked if we were able to collect these on their behalf. Therefore I would like to request that each family provide a can of food, Weet-Bix or the like and have their student deliver their donation to the school hall on Wednesday 12 April."