Rising to meet the challenges of catastrophic flooding

The summer of 2023 has seen Aotearoa facing its greatest climate change challenges yet, with catastrophic consequences for several regions around the country. Responding to severe flooding across Tāmaki Makaurau over Auckland Anniversary weekend, Vaka Tautua’s frontline team rose to the challenge in support of Pacific families.

*Vaka Tautua staff helping out at an emergency Civil Defence Centre*

As 24.5cm of rain fell on Auckland over the course of 24 hours, breaking a record that had lasted nearly 40 years, many families were forced to evacuate their homes and a state of emergency was declared.

In the immediate wake of the devastating storm, Vaka Tautua’s Auckland staff diligently reached out to more than 1,000 vulnerable service users to ensure they were safe. The team arranged food parcels for 360 families, and assisted many others with housing, furniture, bedding and general wellbeing needs.

Frontline staff from Vaka Tautua worked long hours to support affected families at the Emergency Civil Defence Centres in South and West Auckland in the weeks following the floods.

The organisation helped set up and staff the Pacific Response Hub in Māngere, led by South Seas Healthcare and designed to provide the best outcomes for local communities by uniting service providers.

The presence of Vaka Tautua staff at these centres meant families could receive help in their own languages, and have their needs met in a culturally appropriate way.

Many Pacific families across the Auckland region were impacted by the extreme weather events, and the effects were wide ranging. Vaka Tautua has experienced increase demand on all services, from disability to mental health and social needs.

Some Matua Ola Manuia day programmes were disrupted with flooded premises, meaning Pacific elders weren’t able to connect in person. Several tagata sa’ilimalo (Pacific disabled people, their families, and carers) were also affected, urgently needing replacement equipment. Vaka Tautua responded quickly to resolve any urgent needs and provide outreach support wherever needed.

Some of the impacts will be long-lasting, with ongoing recovery efforts needed beyond the immediate needs of an emergency response. Our Ola Fiafia Mental Health team has seen a more than 70% increase in mental health and addiction support requests in the community since the floods.

Vaka Tautua is dedicated to providing continued relief to Pacific families whose daily lives and wellbeing were impacted by the natural disaster. The team sends much alofa to families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts and prayers are with those in regions devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle.