Morning Report for Wednesday 15 February 2023

8:54 AM.Separatist fighters in Indonesia's Papua region have released video footage of a New Zealand pilot taken hostage seven days ago.

Philip Mehrtens was kidnapped after landing his plane in Papua's… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.Dargaville and Whangarei were the Northland towns worst affected by ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Evacuations and road closures continued yesterday as the storm's tentacles moved away from the… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.There is growing concern about sections of Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti with communications almost completely wiped out by the storm.

Wairoa in particular is a black hole, with cellphones, landlines… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.Thousands of people are still out of their homes - from Tairāwhiti to Hawke's Bay and Tararua on the eastern coast and Dargaville, Muriwai, Piha and Karekare in the west - as Cyclone Gabrielle leaves… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.As flood waters rose throughout Hawkes Bay yesterday the call went out for anyone with a jet boat to get in the water to help rescue people and stock.

Andrew Hardie is a dairy farmer from Dannevirke… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.There have been two further deaths in the past 24 hours, both in Hawkes Bay.

Civil defence reported late last night that a woman in Putorino had died after a bank collapsed onto her home.

Police… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.Communities on the East Coast have again been beset by slash which has caused immense damage to properties and infrastructure.

Tokomaru Bay civil defence coordinator Lillian Te Hau-Ward spoke to Kim… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.MetService says all wind warnings across the North Island have now gone, but there are some warning still in place for the top of the South Island.

Metservice's Head of Weather Communications Lisa… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.Hawkes Bay was one of the hardest hit regions in yesterday's floods, with crops swallowed by water and people stranded in their homes.

Among them is Jonty Moffet an orchardist in the Hastings'… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.With the country in a state of national emergency, the first sitting week of Parliament for the year has been postponed.

The House will sit on Tuesday next week.

The only political party opposed to… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.The Gisborne Mayor says newspapers will be delivered to all residents in Gisborne today with an urgent conserve water notice. 

Internet is down in Tairāwhiti. 

Mayor Rehette Stoltz says the region… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.In Hastings and Napier, around 60,000 people are without power and it's expected to be days or weeks before power is returned to all customers.

Transpower announced a national grid emergency… Read more Audio

7:29 AM.More than 200 Defence Force personnel have been deployed to help with the response to ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Dubbed Operation Awhina, members of the Navy, Army and Air Force have been sent… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Houses are underwater and roads have been washed out across Hawkes Bay following yesterday's extraordinary amount of rain.

People were rescued from their roofs by helicopters and boats to escape… Read more Audio

7:23 AM.Hundreds of people there were forced to flee their homes when the Wairoa river burst its banks yesterday.

Power is now mostly back on but the eight-thousand residents have no phone service, only one… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty says this morning's evacuation in the Te Awa Estate in Napier shows that the worst is still not over, despite Cyclone Gabrielle moving away from the… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.Helicopter pilots from the Defence Force, rescue services and private operators plucked between 300 and 400 people off roof tops across the Hawkes Bay yesterday as Cyclone Gabrielle caused rivers to… Read more Audio

6:54 AM.Hundreds of people have evacuated in Dargaville with the Awakino River bursting its banks.

Most are staying with family or friends, but 160 people from the small town slept in evacuation centres last… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.Limited power is back in parts of Gisborne after the Tairāwhiti region was cut off from the rest of the country by ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Communications with the region are still spotty, and… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.Hundreds of people there were forced to flee their homes when the Wairoa river burst its banks yesterday.

Power is now mostly back on but the eight-thousand residents have no phone service, only one… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.Residents in Napier's Te Awa Estate near Marine Parade are being told to evacuate immediately due to rising flood waters.

Civil Defence says this covers Kenny Drive north to Hurunui Drive. 

RNZ… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.Key roads across the North Island are badly damaged and isolating communities.

Bridges have been taken out by floods and roads have been severely damaged across the country - requiring a big clean up… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to continue moving slowly away to the southeast of New Zealand.

Severe weather is easing in the top half of the North Island, but heavy rain is expected in central New… Read more Audio

6:09 AM."The most significant weather event this century."

That's the way Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described the impact of ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Communication and physical access to many… Read more Audio