The Hawke’s Bay Rural Support Trust is amazed at the overwhelming number of offers from people wanting to help farmers hit by the recent devastating storms.

Heavy rain a fortnight ago caused significant damage to infrastructure and affected more than one hundred farms in northern and central parts of Hawke’s Bay.

Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Mike Barham says the number of offers the Trust has received has simply 'blown him away'.

“It’s mind boggling really, we’ve had high schools rung up saying I’ll give you  Napier Boys High School, with 70 7th formers, with their own tents and their own food. You just send us where you want them.

"We’ve had 4WD clubs saying we’ll give you 50 people: we’ve had young farmers collating a group of people to come out and help, and that’s not even mentioning the farmers, and we’ve had heaps of them.”

Mike Barham says now the scale of the disaster is sinking in and the reality of recovery is hitting some people hard.

“They were all running on adrenaline for the first few days. Reality has set in now and they’re very fragile, that would be the word.

"It’s not like in town where it’s just your house that’s lost, it’s their businesses, it’s their homes, it’s their inter-generation inheritance, it’s everything they have.

"These farms won’t be the same, they will be run a different way, it’s really knocked them.”

Any offers of help or support, call Mike Barham on 06 877 3930.