An extra $700,000 will be available to further support businesses affected by the flooding in Edgecumbe and the Bay of Plenty, say Minister for Economic Development Simon Bridges and Lead Minister for Edgecumbe Anne Tolley.

'It's going to be some time before things get back to normal after the flooding which devastated Edgecumbe and the Bay of Plenty,” says Simon.

'It's important the Government provides the appropriate support to help people get back on their feet. Cabinet has today agreed to a $700,000 package which will assist around 100 local businesses affected by flooding.

'This additional funding will help businesses in Edgecumbe and the Bay of Plenty stay viable while the massive clean-up continues.”

Funding of $200,000 will be available for Rural Assistance payments to help rural families with essential living costs, and an extra $250,000 will assist the Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers to assess crop damage. An extra $250,000 towards a Disaster Relief Fund will support businesses.

'This funding compliments the Government's existing support. Over 2,300 Civil Defence payments have been made to help people with food, clothing and bedding - around $550,000 has been paid to date,” says Anne.

'Other hardship assistance payments are also available and so far 135 payments have been made at a cost of over $19,000. We've also provided $500,000 of additional Task Force Green funding to employ people to assist the local Councils with the clean-up.

'Yesterday, the Government activated the Edgecumbe Temporary Accommodation Service which will collect registrations from displaced people who require temporary accommodation, establish what accommodation options are suitable and available, and connect them together.”

The Government continues to monitor the situation and will provide additional support if it is required.

Last week the Government classified the flooding as a medium-scale adverse event. This made extra recovery assistance measures available including recovery coordination and Enhanced Task Force Green teams.