The Hawke’s Bay needs you: Volunteers called for in cyclone aftermath

Green Cross Health regional manager Bronwen Shepherd is calling for volunteers to assist Hawke’s Bay pharmacies in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, which has seriously damaged the region’s power grid.

A national state of emergency was called due to the storm today, and the Hawke’s Bay area suffered severe power cuts and mostly lost phone and internet coverage.

The national electricity operator Transpower has said the damage, which was caused by a power substation being flooded near Taradale, will take “days or weeks” to repair.

Ms Shepherd says it has been extremely difficult to contact pharmacies in the area today but it is her understanding that all pharmacies in the area lost power today, except one that had a back-up generator.

In addition, many staff were prevented from getting to work by the storm, so these two factors meant most pharmacies were closed today.

Currently, Ms Shepherd says the majority of pharmacies in the region are without power and a few have access to sporadic power.

Thanks to a friend at the Port of Napier she was able to source two generators for the region today, one went to a pharmacy/ medical complex and the other to the Hawke's Bay Airport.

Medicine deliveries to area have also been hindered by roads being blocked and several rest homes have also been evacuated and are in urgent need of staff and medical supplies.

Even a few days without power and internet will create a huge backlog of work for pharmacies and Ms Shepherd says if the outage is to last for a week or more that is a real cause of concern for the community which needs to access medicines.

She is calling for pharmacist volunteers to help the pharmacies that are without power and/or who have been impacted by the floods to recover.

“We've been through this before in Christchurch where we had volunteers from across New Zealand,” Ms Shepherd says.

Using her connections in the area, she will make sure any volunteers have accommodation and can be deployed to the pharmacies that need them in the aftermath. As the disaster is ongoing, it isn’t clear how long the recovery period will be.

Anyone interested in volunteering can email Bronwen.shepherd@gxh.co.nz.

Ms Shepherd understands Gisborne pharmacies have been similarly badly affected and will also require support. She does not have such strong connections in that area and hopes someone will step up to organise a similar relief effort there.