When Wairoa flooded for the second year in a row last month, our Disaster Welfare Support Teams were soon there to help.

Taranaki’s Disaster Welfare and Support Team leader reflects on responding to Cyclone Gabrielle, recruiting new team members, and making a home in Aotearoa.

The Florence Nightingale Medal is the highest Red Cross award for nurses and voluntary nursing aides. Named after the famed British nurse, it honours people who’ve distinguished themselves in times of peace or war.

Many of the homes in the small Hawke’s Bay community of Waiohiki have stayed in the same family for generations. Kiriana Laison is the fourth generation of her family to live in her home – her children are the fifth. The night flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, Kiriana was worried she had not only lost her home but her entire community – and her family. 

Update 15: A year after Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in early 2023 we’ve committed the entire New Zealand Disaster Fund to helping people and communities affected.