Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty has announced a further contribution of $1.7 million to Mayoral Relief Funds to support communities impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

“The devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle is immense, and there’s no getting away from the fact that life on the ground in the affected areas is really tough.

“Local communities and councils understand where the immediate needs are and how to help whānau, community organisations and marae, and this funding will assist them in these efforts.

“These additional contributions will help ensure that support for recovery gets to those who need it most, as quickly as possible,” Kieran McAnulty said.

The additional funding will be provided to the following Mayoral Relief Funds:

· Northland Region - $500k

· Auckland - $300k

· Bay of Plenty - $200k

· Waikato - $500k (to be delivered to Waikato CDEM Group to be disbursed to impacted communities in the Waikato District; Thames-Coromandel; Matamata-Piako; Hauraki Districts)

· Tararua District - $150k

· Wairarapa - $75,000 (disbursed to impacted communities in the Masterton; Carterton and South Wairarapa districts)

“This funding follows initial contributions of $1.1 million to Auckland and $100,000 to Thames-Coromandel following the late-January flooding events, and $1 million each to Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay regions’ relief funds last week,” Kieran McAnulty said.

“This is in addition to the Government Community Support Package, and the interim emergency relief package announced by the Government yesterday.

“Recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle will be one of the major areas of focus for the Government in the coming weeks and months and we’re committed to working in partnership with local government, business and the community while we do this,” Kieran McAnulty said.

If you would like to provide support to the communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, you can find links to the various mayoral relief funds managed by Civil Defence here.

For more information on the further interim emergency relief package visit here.

For more information on the Government Community Support Package visit here.

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