The scale of the devastation inflicted by Cyclone Gabrielle in Gisborne and other regions of New Zealand’s upper North Island is heartbreaking. Our thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.

Along the East Cape, there is only one road in and out, State Highway 35, and that has been ravaged in multiple sites by the cyclone, leaving many communities with no way to access support. Communications and power infrastructure, which were already fragile to begin with along the coast, have been shut down for numerous communities, leaving them with no contact with the outside world and making welfare checks extremely difficult.

Thank you to all the incredible people working hard to distribute kai and supplies, restore critical transport links, help to reconnect communities, and clean up the damage. There is a long road ahead of us all to recover and rebuild.

Donations to support these efforts and those affected can be made to the Tairāwhiti Mayoral Relief Fund set up by the Gisborne District Council. DStevens have contributed a $3,000 donation to support our local community in the immediate relief and recovery phase.

Please donate what you can – no amount is too small.

Account Name: Gisborne District Council
Account Number: 03-0638-0502288-00
International Payment Swift Code: WPACNZ2W
Reference: Disaster Relief Trust

There are a number of other organisations and iwi with fundraising efforts underway that you can support, if you are in a position to do so. We have collated a list of some options that we know of below:

Helping the coastal communities of Tairāwhiti secure communication and power, Manaaki Matakōa is urgently calling for donations here. All funds will go directly towards supporting communications and power infrastructure for the Matakāoa, Te Puia, Waipiro, and Tokomaru Akau communities.

Ngāti Porou are collecting donations to support affected communities in and around Tairāwhiti. You can make donations to the account using these details:

Account Name: Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou
Account Number: 01-0641-0232397-00
Reference: CG – “Your Name”

Te Poho o Rawiri Marae are providing immediate relief to displaced families in need. Donate to support their efforts using these details:

Account Name: Te Poho o Rawiri Marae
Account Number: 06-0637-0114865-00
Reference: CG – “Your Name”

Stuff’s fundraising campaign is raising money for the Red Cross and Mayoral Relief Funds for the regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Donations have topped $3.5 million in just 5 days, thanks to the generosity of 31,500 people.

NZME has raised over $5 million for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Women’s Refuge are asking for one-off donations to ensure they can continue supporting women and children in the aftermath of the floods.

The SPCA centre in Gisborne is still closed, but SPCA staff are on the ground helping where they can. Anyone needing assistance with animal rescue or evacuation, or temporary accommodation for their animals should contact the MPI emergency management team on awem@mpi.govt.nz or 04 894 0132. You can donate to the SPCA here.

Have we missed any relief funds or charities from our list? Send us a message with details.