"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 communities, particularly in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti, remain difficult, with power outages adding to the strain.
Hipkins said he is particularly concerned about Wairoa, where the Wairoa River has burst its banks, inundating 10-15 percent of the town which is home to around half of the town's 8000 population.
Communication was only partly restored late last night through the use of a Star Link terminal.
Hawke's Bay Civil Defence said Wairoa has only one day's worth of food, and enough drinking water for two days. They have made a request to NEMA for enough food and water to supply the district for seven days.
Travel between Napier and Hastings is not possible. SH2 is out due to flooding, with the Ngaruroro River Bridge closed due to flooding. SH51 is also closed due to severe weather conditions".
Further north, Wairoa is cut off as State Highway 2 Gisborne to Ōpōtiki and Napier to Gisborne is closed as is State Highway 35 Gisborne to Hicks Bay
A Tokomaru Bay business owner said the highway through Tairāwhiti has sustained incredible damage.
Peter Cunningham of Highway 35 Cafe spent last night sheltering at an uphill marae along with most of the town's population.
He said Tokomaru Bay has been flooded - but Uawa/Tolaga Bay appears to be the worst-affected.
Gisborne residents are being asked to urgently conserve water after a break in the city's main supply, somewhere between the dams and the treatment plant.
The Government estimates roughly 2500 people have been displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle so far.
This includes 1000 people in the Far North, 400 households in Auckland, 93 in Bay of Plenty, 75 in Waikato and roughly 1000 people in Hawke's Bay.
But with communication sparse, officials have struggled to get an idea of the damage caused throughout the country.
Northland Civil Defence said hundreds of people were evacuated in Dargaville yesterday after the Awakino River burst its banks.
Further south, hundreds of people were rescued from raging flood waters in Hawke's Bay after rivers burst their banks.
Hawkes Bay civil defence reported late last night that a woman in Putorino had died after a bank collapsed onto her home.
Police visited the property following a missing person's report and undertook rescue efforts but were unsuccessful.
And a body was found on the shore in Bay View, Napier shortly before eight-PM last night. It is not yet known if the death is connected to the flooding.
Kevin McCormack spent most of the day on his roof with his wife and two neighbours after the Tutaekuri River in Napier burst its banks.
In Muriwai, near Auckland, Fire and Emergency will resume the search today for the volunteer firefighter missing in a landslide.
Dave van Zwananberg is a vet at Vets North in Kumeu. He is trapped in the wreckage of a house that collapsed.
A person is in a critical condition in hospital after being hit by a a falling tree fell in a Kohimarama playground yesterday afternoon.
AT's Executive General Manager of Safety, Stacey Van Der Putten said: "Aucklanders should be prepared for delays and disruption to travel today as flood damage, sea conditions, power outages and fallen trees continue to affect our roads and public transport network."
Work is well underway to assess and repair damaged roads, with over 500 crew members working across Auckland. While dozens of roads have been reopened, there are currently more than 100 roads closed or partially closed.
Many thousands of people still don't have power this morning and face extended outages.
Power outages have been reported for 60,000 customers across Hastings, Havelock North, Napier, north along east coast to Tūtira and south to Waimārama. It is expected to take some time before power is fully restored across the region.
At its peak earlier yesterday, across the country close to 225,000 people were without power, authorities said.
