As the response efforts in the south continue, two Bay of Plenty Civil Defence staff have packed their bags to lend a hand in Wellington.

This is in response to a request for assistance in the wake of Monday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Hanmer Springs.

Naomi Luckett and Paul Bourton left yesterday and will be helping with social media and logistics at the National Crisis Management Centre.

It's expected further staff may be deployed to assist the effort as the response continues.

Bay of Plenty emergency management director Clinton Naude says this is what we do and it's great to be able to support this effort in any way we can.

'People often don't realise how long support is required for after an event. Monday's earthquake was a big shock and the clean-up will continue for some time so its important staff who have been doing long days are relived.

'The work is continuing here in the bay too. We have responded to more than 600 messages through Facebook, there has been a number of phone calls and we have seen an increase of internet traffic viewing our region wide Tsunami Evacuation Maps.

"We appreciate the thanks, queries and suggestions from the community as this helps us identify improvements.”

Check out http://bit.ly/2fDh0cq to see the three different tsunami evacuation zones for Bay of Plenty or your local city or district council's website for more specific information for your area.

Meanwhile, several Givealittle pages have been set up to support those affected by the Kaikoura earthquake.

Red Cross NZ, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, and Tapu Te Ranga Marae are three community groups looking to raise funds to help those in need of disaster relief.

New Zealand Red Cross teams are responding after the series of earthquakes over Sunday night.

So far, $4000 has been raised to help support their efforts in ensuring those left homeless have food and shelter.

Red Cross is providing support across all affected regions, working alongside Civil Defence and city councils. Clean water has been identified as an urgent need in many areas and Red Cross will offer water bladders and tap stands for distribution if needed.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter team are also responding and need urgent support to help local communities who need medical assistance and rescue from rising flood waters.

Donations are desperately needed during this time as Westpac Rescue's resources are being stretched thin. As well as providing support in the wake of the earthquake, it is still business as usual for Westpac Rescue, so the team is working around the clock to help those unaffected by the earthquakes who still need help.

The Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Wellington is providing shelter for those affected by the earthquake in the Wellington who are unable to return to their homes following the threat of a tsunami.

The Marae currently has an MOU in place with the Wellington City Council to become a disaster relief centre.

Tapu Te Ranga Marae has a long history of helping those in need but needs support to ensure it can provide this help with an increased demand.

There is also a general Kaikoura Community Fund people can donate to.