Stories

Many people in Edgecumbe were unprepared when, on 6 April 2017, the Rangitaiki River breached a stopbank, which caused widespread flooding across the whole town. One of these residents was Vicky Richards, who lost her home that day.

When Plimmerton resident, Emma Fromings, received a visit from one of our Red Cross disaster response volunteers, Nikki Carver, following a severe weather event, she was still in shock. But having someone from Red Cross to talk to made all the difference.

For Evangeline, a Plimmerton resident whose property has been affected in the recent flood, the sight of a Red Cross volunteer came as huge relief.

New Zealand Red Cross’ Disaster Welfare and Support Teams (DWST) have been responding to the Napier floods since the early hours of Tuesday 10 November. 

New Zealand Red Cross’ Disaster Welfare and Support Team members are supporting people affected by the severe flooding which hit the Hawke's Bay region overnight.  

From supporting the evacuation of tourists stranded in Milford Sound and providing emotional support to people with flooded homes in Mataura, our disaster response volunteers have had a busy end of summer.

More than 1,800 Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are supporting the response to devastating monsoon flooding across India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Red Cross had been working in the Bay of Plenty after the region was hit by severe flooding and the tail end of a cyclone.

Red Cross is responding in Whakatane after severe flooding has forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Medical emergencies can happen at any time – even during a natural disaster. It's something Red Cross volunteers Doug and Gerard found out first hand on the West Coast.

As heavy rains hammered Franz Josef in the early hours of 24 March, and water began to rise, Glenda McLaughlin was safe in bed in Christchurch. As a newly appointed team leader for the Red Cross’ Disaster Welfare and Support Team (DWST), she was soon wide awake with the news that Franz Josef was flooding.