Cyclone Gabrielle and Auckland flooding: Communities share stories on one year anniversary

Ethnic service providers and community organisations have worked hard to support and upskill communities affected by the Auckland flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle.

One year on from the severe weather events, we are sharing the stories of three organisations whose communities were badly impacted in January and February 2023 on our website.

The stories share the groups’ experiences of the events and the support they have offered their communities over the year that followed.

Read their stories on our website.

Auckland’s Mt Roskill Collective, Tairāwhiti Multicultural Council and Hawke’s Bay’s KAMI Bay community have supported their communities through a range of initiatives which aim to better prepare them for future emergencies.

All groups recognised that upskilling their communities was crucial. They have run water safety skills classes, connected members to essential services, provided language support, and helped people develop household emergency plans, among other initiatives.

Our teams were in contact with ethnic service providers and community groups in the weeks and months following the events. We shared their concerns with relevant Government agencies and advised response agencies on the community’s immediate needs. This included making sure that cultural and faith-based needs were considered in terms of the food and accommodation that was being provided, and Civil Defence factsheets were available in different languages.  

We support communities with their own projects and initiatives through our Ethnic Communities Development Fund which provides $4.2 million in funding a year. We developed a disaster and emergency support hub which shares key information about what support government and other organisations may provide during and following natural disasters and emergencies. We are also working on a series of animated videos on emergency preparedness.

We know the one-year anniversary will be hard for many people and want you to know that support is available. The support hub on our website includes a section on mental health and wellbeing. This includes a list of counselling and support services and upcoming workshops for ethnic communities. It is regularly updated with new information.

Find mental health and wellbeing support.