'This is not an op-shop': Cyclone towns don't want your ballgowns

Monday, 20 February 2023

SH2 in and out of Wairoa has suffered significant damage from Cyclone Gabrielle.

A ballgown, high heels … probably not what you’d need if you’d lost your home and all your belongings in a once in a century weather event.

But they are among thousands of unusable items volunteer coordinators in flood-hit Wairoa are having to sort through as donations pile up in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.

“This is not an op-shop,” said one of several frustrated locals, who spent this morning packing boxes of essentials – toilet paper, sanitary goods, nappies, water and canned food – for isolated families.

“With clothing you have to sort it, size it, make sure it’s clean … it’s crazy.”

Donations wait to be collected at the Wairoa Community Centre.

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Boxes of essentials – toilet paper, sanitary goods, nappies, water and canned food – being prepared for isolated families.

Kirby, who goes by her first name only, is a teacher at Wairoa College. She’s ex-army and has done this before.

A container load of less urgent donations at Wairoa Aerodrome.

“You needed some clothing and blankets and things like that at the start, especially for those that lost everything. But we don’t need it now. It’s just using up time and resources and there’s no storage space.”

Some items would likely end up being dumped.

People they were delivering supplies to on Monday had not been badly affected by flooding, but didn’t have the ability – because of fuel shortages – to get into town for supplies, she said.

“By next week, it should be back to normal and most of them will be self-sufficient again.”

Volunteers in other storm-hit areas were also calling for a halt to donations, saying while people were being well-meaning and generous, the right items were not being sent.

NEMA director Roger Ball stressed donated goods could create a 'significant overhead' and may not be well-matched to the needs of those on the ground.

'Truckloads of donated stuff, which is well intentioned, but… cash donations to the relief funds are best,' he said.

Lisa Glass, from Emergency Management Hawke’s Bay, thanked the “beautiful kind people” who wanted to support communities ravaged by the floods but said official supplies were being provided to those most in need.

Online donations can be made via Stuff’s fundraising campaign. The National Emergency Management Agency has a list of mayoral funds that are taking donations, with money collected being used for clean-up and recovery efforts, while there is also the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.