More than $9,000 has been fundraised by Hotel Motueka for locals struggling in the aftermath of the floods.
General manager Vinny Sibbald says they had hoped to reach $5,000, but the community had rallied behind the hotel’s fundraising to help people cleaning up flood-damaged properties and for those who need basic necessities like food and clothing.
As of Tuesday this week, the total rasied was sitting at $9573.
The hotel also made its 13 rooms available for people who needed accommodation, initially for people who evacuated their properties or because roads were closed and they couldn’t get home. Then, he says people needed a place to stay and will for some time because they have nowhere to go back to.
Vinny says the money is being given out to anyone who needs a helping hand, with an “ear to the ground” helping to identify them.
“Just to know you have a couple of hundred bucks in your pocket or you’ve got a cupboard or boot full of food and your kids have got blankets and that sort of thing.
“Once you’ve got the necessities of life locked in, then you can start assessing where you go from there.
“When you say ‘what are we going to eat tonight’ or ‘where are we going to eat’ and ‘we’ve got no clothes’ – I couldn’t think of a more dire situation to be in.”
Now, as the flooded areas dry out, he says those affected by floodwaters will move into cleanup mode and that will be a long process for many.
“This is almost like a sleeping giant – it just sneaks up, you know. You don’t necessarily see the destruction immediately, but you certainly can see it in the coming days. Once that water drops and goes away, then you really start to see the damage. Debris strewn up the riverbanks and through orchards and you’re seeing animals marooned on little bits of land. It’s really tough.
“This will take years to recover from.”
The fundraiser has delivered wheelbarrows and shovels to people beginning the cleanup and Vinny says they have requests for items such as cleaning products and water blasters from those with flood-affected properties in the Motueka Valley.
“We had one guy desperate for sheets of plywood so he could build something to protect what he could salvage. The water had gone right through his house.
“We’ve got people for one reason or other - and we don’t judge - have lost everything and weren’t insured. Insurance isn’t cheap nowadays; some places aren’t insurable and tiny homes are very hard to insure. We have a different mode of living nowadays so it’s not one size fits all.”
Despite the trauma from the flood and some being left homeless, he says there is a real resilience among those affected.
“They show amazing resilience. It’s very easy to put on a happy face, but geez, they show some resilience and are really, really thankful and very, very humble. A lot of them struggle to accept the help because they think somebody else needs it more than them.”
