WELLINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government continues to help people and businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit the North Island in February.
The government is providing an additional 25 million NZ dollars (15.52 million U.S. dollars) to help more businesses in the clean-up from the damage caused by cyclone-affected regions.
This follows earlier support of 50 million NZ dollars to assist the business community with their immediate cashflow needs.
"The priority has been to get businesses back up and running as quickly as possible from the impact of the cyclone, working through the local agencies on the ground who know their area best," Minister of Finance and Cyclone Recovery Grant Robertson said on Tuesday.
The extra funding allows more firms to be supported by up to 40,000 NZ dollars per business. As with the previous funding, it will be managed locally by agreed providers, Robertson said.
"We are committed to helping people and businesses recover from the cyclone," he said. (1 NZ dollar equals 0.62 USD) ■