For the lucky people who have been more fortunate to have not felt the worst of Cyclone Gabrielle, we have gathered a list of ways you can help if you are able to.
Whether it’s volunteering to help clean up or donating money or goods, any help will go a long way to those in need.
Hundreds of thousands of Kiwis have been affected by the severe weather seen across New Zealand in the past week. Power cuts, floods, and slips have left some regions completely cut off from the rest of the country, needing air or water support to bring in emergency supplies.
The Red Cross is on the ground dealing with immediate welfare needs and supporting people’s emotional, practical and social needs.
OTHER PLACES TO DONATE:
Federated Farmers are accepting direct bank donations to assist farmers in their recovery from this event.
Food or money can be donated to those affected in Auckland on the Auckland City Mission website here.
To volunteer to help in whatever way you can visit Volunteering Hawke’s Bay, Volunteering Northland, Volunteering Bay of Plenty, Volunteering Auckland or Volunteering Waikato depending on what region(s) you are able to assist in.
The Student Volunteer Army is also helping with cleanup and welcomes any extra help. Sign up to do what you can on their website here.
Orange Sky, who offers laundry and shower services, welcomes donations of toiletries (but not towels or blankets as they have no storage). An Auckland-wide mobile delivery service is available on the information section of their website here.
Donations to Women’s Refuge can be made here.
A Give-a-Little page has been set up to help the family of the young child killed in floodwaters in Napier.
Any donations or help is appreciated by those who have been most affected by the devastating weather sweeping across the country over the past week.
Metservice has lifted all severe weather watches and warnings for the Central North Island including Ruapehu district.
With Cyclone Gabrielle moving away from NZ, attention now turns to the massive recovery effort.
Metservice are saying there is more wet weather on the way today with the tail of Cyclone Gabrielle but the good news is that a high pressure pushes in from the West bringing more settled weather for the country throughout the weekend.
Mr Chambers said that Ruapehu is now well into recovery mode with contractors being busy clearing up cyclone damage.
“There are still reports of some road outages but contractors are moving quickly to clear these.
People should continue to call in any issues or road outages to Council on 07 895 8188.
The Incident Control Point (ICP) set-up to monitor and respond to the cyclone has been stood down.
As things return to ‘business as usual’ we are actively looking at how Council can support our regional neighbours who have been badly affected.
People needing to travel out of the district should check road information on the Waka Kotahi NZTA journey planner www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz
Emergency Management Officer Andy Chambers said that that impacts from Cyclone Gabrielle are however still being felt across the North Island, and are expected to continue until later today.
“People should remain vigilant as high wind gusts are still possible,” he said.
Please continue to exercise care if driving as the rain and high winds may have caused downed trees and slips on local roads.
It is also recommended that people wait until the wind has subsided before commencing any clean-up work.
There are still some power outages on the Powerco and Lines Company Networks.
People are urged to stay well clear of any downed power-lines and treat them as if they are live.
Contractors are working hard to restore services in challenging conditions.
For any situations where life is at risk call 111.
For any other non-emergency issues including local road outages call Council on 07 895 8188.
Call any TLC power outages to 0800 367 328 www.thelinescompany.co.nz
Call any Powerco power outages to 0800 27 27 27 www.powerco.co.nz
Civil Defence is keeping its Incident Control Point (ICP) at the CDEM Base Taumarunui open to monitor the on-going situation and respond to any community needs.”
Clive Manley, Chief Executive, Ruapehu District Council
STAY INFORMED
https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home#central-north
GET READY GET THRU
https://getready.govt.nz/en/prepared/household
SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.facebook.com/civildefencemanawatuwhanganui
STATE HIGHWAY INFORMATION
https://nzta.govt.nz/traffic-and-travel-information
Metservice has lifted all severe weather watches and warnings for the Central North Island including Ruapehu district but vigilance is still called as road outages and high wind gusts still possible
Current location of Cyclone Gabrielle
CLICK HERE
All of the North Island is under a weather watch and 10 regions have declared a state of emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle bears down on the country.
The storm is making its way south towards the Tararua Ranges and Wellington, with 120mm to 180mm of rain forecast in the hills. It has already wreaked havoc on various regions including Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Gisborne with states of emergency across the country and mass evacuations.
NO SIGNIFICANT ISSUES OVERNIGHT FROM CYCLONE GABRIELLE – RUAPEHU & WHANGANUI REGION
STRONG WIND WARNING STILL IN EFFECT
Ruapehu Civil Defence are stating that there no significant issues have been reported from around the district from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle overnight.
Emergency Management Officer Andy Chambers said that a strong wind warning was still in effect for this morning with southeast winds, to severe gale conditions gusting 120 km/h to 130 km/h in exposed places.
The strong wind gusts could damage trees, power-lines and unsecured structures and make driving may be hazardous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
There are reports of downed trees and a power outage in Owhango this morning.
People are urged to stay well clear of any downed power-lines and treat them as if they are live.
It is recommended that if people can continue to stay home and off the roads this is ideal however if travel is necessary to drive carefully to the conditions.
River levels are still low through the region and the risk of flooding is very unlikely.
The rain over the last 24 hours and forecast for the next 24 hours is as follows:
- Taumarunui 34mm last 24hours 1mm expected next 24hrs
- Waiouru 19mm in the last 6hours 27mm expected next 24hrs
- National park 34mm last 24 hours 6mm expected next 24hrs
- Ohakune 29mm last 24 hours 20mm expected next 24hrs
- Raetihi 29mm last 24hours 16mm expected next 24hrs
- Ohura 44mm last 24 hours 1mm expected next 24hrs
Civil Defence is keeping its Incident Control Point (ICP) at the CDEM Base Taumarunui open to monitor the on-going situation and respond to any community needs.
For any situations where life is at risk call 111.
For any other non-emergency issues including local road outages call Council on 07 895 8188.
Clive Manley, Chief Executive. Ruapehu District Council
STAY INFORMED
https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home#central-north
GET READY GET THRU
https://getready.govt.nz/en/prepared/household
SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.facebook.com/civildefencemanawatuwhanganui
STATE HIGHWAY INFORMATION
https://nzta.govt.nz/traffic-and-travel-information
Sunday and Monday, 12th & 13th Feb
Whanganui Civil Defence is urging people in the region to prepare for Cyclone Gabrielle.
The tropical cyclone, currently in the Coral Sea, is forecast to track southeast towards New Zealand over the next few days. It is expected to bring significant severe weather to northern and central New Zealand from late Sunday onwards.
Gabrielle is likely to approach the northern North Island on Monday and possibly move on to northern and central parts of the North Island on Tuesday. MetService will issue and upgrade warnings and watches over the weekend as things develop.
Whanganui District Council emergency manager Tim Crowe said its timing would depend on how the cyclone was tracking and could change as the system changed speed or direction.
“While its probable path is further north and east, there is a small risk of it impacting closer to or on our area should it track differently. It’s possible we will experience heavy rain, localised flooding, wind and associated problems such as power outages or slips. This could also include the main rivers as well as smaller streams and creeks.”
The Civil Defence team was closely monitoring the weather and rivers and would provide updates if the situation changed, Crowe said.
The council’s infrastructure staff and contractors are also taking precautions to minimise impacts on roading and stormwater infrastructure, including checking streams and culverts around the district.
Cyclone Gabrielle’s path
How you can prepare
This weekend is a good time to review your household, workplace and personal readiness in anticipation of the cyclone and its potential impacts should it head our way.
Trampolines, loose iron or other items should be well secured, drains checked and cleared and even light garden items put away.
Low surface flooding-prone areas such as garages and sheds should have water-vulnerable or valuable items raised above ground level where possible. You can view a map that shows low-lying areas via the council website whanganui.govt.nz in the About Whanganui section under Online Maps – Overland Flow Paths.
Be prepared for possible power cuts, and have torches and your family plan ready.
Take this opportunity to check in with family/whānau and neighbours about their preparedness and needs.
For council updates follow the Whanganui District Council on Facebook and Twitter. Check under Latest News on the council website, or sign up for updates via the free mobile Antenno app.
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The face of Cyclone Gabrielle taken at 1.30pm February 9 from the Himawari8 Geostationary satellite. Photo / JMA
