Fourteen pallets of much needed supplies has been trucked to the cyclone ravaged Hawkes Bay from Invercargill's Southern Institute of Technology.

Team Leader of Student Support Services, Jodi Conway said SIT got involved after seeing local transport company Wainui Transport/Mainfreight were organising a shipment.

The aid packages were collected from SIT staff and the wider Southland community and included urgent supplies of toiletries and some medical goods.

Comments with the packages included:

“We just moved from the Waikato and we live in Fortrose and had to do something.”

“This reminds me of the Southland ‘84 floods, I’m only too happy to help.”

“Hugely grateful to offer some form of hope to others in need, it’s heart-breaking.”

Tyler Wainui of Wainui Transport Ltd. said he was “pretty humbled” with the response from Southland/Otago and the level of generosity shown towards friends, family and all those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle on the East Coast.

“A lot of people down here felt like they were sitting on their hands and not able to do anything,” he said.

Two further pallets from people who didn’t know the appeal had closed, would be delivered on the next available run, Wainui said.

Both Conway and Wainui have family in the Hawkes Bay area.