Range of support for those dealing with onslaught

Left, Northland Rural Support Trust chair Michelle Ruddell – “we’re all vulnerable”. Right, Rural Women NZ president Gill Naylor.

Rural areas have been hit by a series of extreme weather events, causing ongoing stress, anxiety and distress for many.

Please, not again – that was the all-pervasive feeling north of Auckland when yet another major rain deluge struck the region on Tuesday, May 9.

Properties that had never flooded before January 27 were submerged again, dozens of drivers stranded as roads were blocked once more, and tonnes more soil, rocks and trees slipped from their ...