Flood related information

For welfare support, please phone Wairoa District Council's main number on 06 838 7309 and lodge a Customer Service Request.

Alternatively, you can lodge a Customer Service Request, which will be directed to the Wairoa Civil Defence welfare team for action.

If you and/or your whanau need emergency welfare help, please phone the Ministry of Social Development on freephone 0800 400 100.

• Civil Defence payments are available for people affected by the June 26 flooding event.
• You don't need to be on a benefit to qualify for a Civil Defence payment.
• In most cases, it doesn't matter what your income is.
• For more information about the Civil Defence payment, visit the Work & Income website.
• You can also call Work & Income on 0800 559 009.

Insurers recognise that many people may not be able to quickly inform their insurers of a claim in the early stages of a response and begin their recovery.

While people should contact their insurer as soon as they are able, they should not wait to begin recovery and loss prevention actions if they have the means to do so safely.

While it can be good to make a start on putting thigs right, people should prioritise their, and their whanau’s, immediate welfare needs.

Insurers are mobilising to have a presence on the ground where possible across affected communities.

Insurers have the strength and experience to stand by the community through the long haul of the recovery.

Recovery advice  

• Put safety first. Stay out of badly damaged buildings and, if possible, flood water.
• Do not drive flooded vehicles. If your property has been flooded, turn off the power. Don’t turn it back on until it has been checked by an electrician.
• Temporary accommodation: for those with home or contents insurance, including renters, temporary accommodation benefits are typically available.
• These benefits are particularly useful for people that may be out of their homes for weeks or months while their homes are repaired to a habitable standard.
• Once your immediate needs for accommodation have been met, talk to your insurer about the specific amount of money or time available for this under your policy.
• If your property was damaged from Cyclone Gabrielle but now has additional damage, be sure to record the new damage and report that to your insurer when possible.

 What you can do to start cleaning up

• Mark and photograph the highest point of any flooding.
• You can start with emergency repairs to make your home safe and sanitary. Keep receipts and a record of work done.
• Dispose of fully flooded property, especially carpets, soft furniture, such as sofas and beds, plus other ruined or contaminated items that can’t otherwise be properly cleaned.
• Dispose of flood contaminated food or that that has otherwise spoiled in fridges and freezes that lost power (for more than 24 and 48 hrs respectively). Record this to add to your contents claim.
• Wear appropriate protective equipment if you’re doing this yourself. List everything that you remove, take photographs and, where possible, get together any proof of purchase such as receipts that you have. You will need such records to support your claim.
• Set aside items that can be cleaned. Do not keep unsanitary items in your home.
• When the weather allows, start the drying out process. Remove all the water you can, open windows and doors to get as much air in as possible. If you can get fans and dehumidifiers, use these safely.
• Do not remove hard floor coverings, wall linings or structural elements of a property or disturb any materials which might contain hazardous substances.
• You must talk to your insurer if this is required, and only suitably qualified professionals should undertake this work.

For more information and advice, please visit the Insurance Council New Zealand website.

 A heart felt thank you to those people, communities and organisations who have reached out offering donations to support our whānau impacted by the June 26 flooding event.

Financial support is the best way to help Wairoa people who have been impacted by recent flooding. You can do this via the following channels

Givealittle page

Wairoa June 2024 Flood - Givealittle

If you wish to make a donation to the Wairoa Flood Mayoral Relief Fund, the account number is 03-0785-0070470-00 using the reference “JUNE FLOOD” and email donations@wairoadc.govt.nz if you require a donation receipt. 

You can also make a donation over the counter at the Wairoa District Council main office weekdays between 8am - 4.30pm

All funding will be managed through the Wairoa District Council. At this stage while we have identified many needs, full assessments are still being carried out to ensure these donations are helping our flood-impacted community in the best possible way.

For weather updates relating to forecasts across our district, please visit the Wairoa page of the MetService website.

For all severe weather warnings across the country, you can visit this MetService link.

A distribution centre for anyone who wants to donate quality household goods has been set up at the Pataka/Old Wairoa New World building (next to Bottle-O Wairoa), at 40-42 Queen Street.

Civil Defence is now welcoming quality household goods donations.

If you would like to donate, please contact 0800 276 423 to coordinate this.

While we appreciate your generosity and donations, we are asking for quality household goods donations only.

The distribution centre also will also have available PPE gear and cleaning supplies from 4pm Sunday 30 June.

Kahungunu Executive ki Te Wairoa

The team at Kahungunu Executive provides a range of services and programmes that could benefit local whanau affected by flooding. These services include:

• Counselling
• Parenting programmes
• Abuse prevention
• Home-based support 
• Mental Health

To contact Kahungunu Executive, email kahu-exec@xtra.co.nz or call 06 838 3259 or 06 838 6835. Or, you can visit www.kahu-exec.co.nz.

Enabled Wairoa

The team at Enabled Wairoa also provides a range of services that could benefit local whanau. These services include:

• Emergency and Transitional Housing
• Family support: one-on-one mentoring support for parents
• Strengthening Families Support: to support whanau who are dealing with two or more agencies to achieve their goals

The team at enabled is available from 9am to 5pm.

To contact the team, please email yuanita@enabled.org.nz or call 06 838 7390. Or, you can visit enabled.org.nz.