From Vanessa

Kia ora taatou

New Zealand has recently endured perhaps its worst weather disaster in living memory.

Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through many of our communities claiming lives, destroying homes and changing the physical landscape of our country.

For those of us in Auckland, the chaos of Gabrielle compounded damage from earlier floods in January.

Our health system coped well. Damage to facilities was minimal and our people worked extraordinarily hard to keep normal services running, including staff at Te Puia Springs Hospital who continued providing care with limited generator power.

Our thoughts and aroha go out to those impacted and my thanks go to those Te Whatu Ora - Counties Manukau staff who have volunteered to assist with the mahi in these cyclone-hit regions.

Your contribution is greatly valued.

We live in a great country and the wairua that's emerged from the chaos of recent events is a timely reminder – amongst the destruction and sorrow – of the kindness and generosity of everyday kiwis.

I’m sure much more will be needed of us all in the coming months and we at Te Whatu Ora will be ready and willing to help as required.