New Zealand Red Cross

We cannot do what we do without people like you. And now, as extreme weather has continued to wreak havoc across the country, your generosity and kindness is needed more than ever!

By making a donation now, you will help us continue to be there for those impacted by the deadly Cyclone Gabrielle across Aotearoa New Zealand and be prepared to give life-changing assistance to those impacted by the next emergency we face.

Climate change is causing increasingly frequent and severe weather events across Aotearoa New Zealand resulting in devastating impacts for thousands of Kiwis. We’re feeling this impact now more than ever. Cyclone Gabrielle hammered our communities whilst we were barely in the recovery phase of the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Northland flooding.

We rely on the kindness and generosity of people like you to ensure that our Red Cross teams are fully trained, equipped and ready to give critical help to the people caught in an emergency.

Both the record rainfall in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Cyclone Gabrielle caused unprecedented damage across the country. With water submerging homes and entire neighbourhoods, people and families have lost everything, leaving over 10,000 Kiwis displaced. Tragically, lives were lost and the full extent of the damage Cyclone Gabrielle caused will take a long time to be fully understood.

New Zealand Red Cross teams have worked with emergency management agencies to deliver vital assistance across some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s hardest hit areas. That includes setting up and managing Civil Defence Centres, providing essential supplies such as stretchers, blankets, bedding and hygiene kits. We are deploying satellite phones, generators and other equipment. Our trained Red Cross people have also provided crucial psychosocial support and practical help to those who have been forced to leave their homes.

We play a key role as a support agency in an emergency. We support communities to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters. We know our support will be needed more often and for longer in the future. We need to be prepared.

Our highly trained Red Cross teams along with their specialist disaster response equipment and supplies need to be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, wherever and whenever we are needed.

When you donate to our New Zealand Disaster Fund during an emergency, you’re not only helping our response in the communities affected by these events, but you’re also helping ensure that the next community facing an emergency will have access to our support and a helping hand in their time of need.

Also, don’t forget that when you make a donation of over $5.00, you can claim 33.33% of it back from IRD!