More than 1300 volunteers muck in for 'The Big Clean Up' in West Auckland

Thursday, 2 February 2023

The council has already red stickering 175 homes in Auckland after the flooding.

Thousands of Kiwis are coming together on Sunday for “The Big Clean Up”, an event led by Student Volunteer Army which aims to tidy up flood-ravaged West Auckland.

The Big Clean Up will begin at Starling Park, in Ranui, which will act as a base for groups of volunteers heading out to help clean up homes in the area.

SVA is a charity that mobilises a network of volunteers of all ages to respond to crises across Aotearoa – it has already signed up 1372people across Tāmaki Makaurau to assist with Sunday’s mammoth clean-up event.

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West Auckland was hit particularly badly by the Friday floods.

The organisation was founded in the wake of the Canterbury earthquakes, when thousands of young people volunteered to assist with the clean up.

“These volunteers have knocked on hundreds of doors, removed piles of flood-damaged debris, and helped Aucklanders rip up their drenched carpets,” an SVA spokesperson said.

Student Volunteer Army will be helping those needing support on Sunday, February 5.

“With continued flooding, the need for support has not died down, and West Auckland remains one of the worst affected areas. The Big Clean Up is part of SVA’s response to that need.”

Robbie Nicol, from SVA, said although the organisation has no set targets to meet on Sunday, they managed “to visit nearly 700 homes on Monday with only 40 volunteers, so we're confident we can have a significant impact”.

SVA Auckland Club President and University of Auckland student, Jake Parsons, said the organisation has been “overwhelmed” with the response from Aucklanders “eager to help”.

“This is a chance for people to gather, have a sausage from the sausage sizzle, and get to work helping out their community,” Parsons said.

“SVA has more than a decade of experience enabling volunteers to respond to disasters, and we’re so glad the people of Auckland have stepped up when their community needs them.”

Almost one week on from the downpour which saw four people lose their lives, thousands of Kiwis across Auckland, Northland and Waikato are dealing with the flood damage to their homes and livelihoods.

Insurance companies are receiving a huge amount of claims, with 6000 lodged in the first 48 hours alone.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced the Government would be providing an additional $700,000 for upper North Island regions badly hit by flooding in the past few days.