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 country.
McAnulty told Morning Report that it is a concerning situation but locals are receiving assistance.
He says flooding in the Northern Hawkes Bay town of Wairoa, which remains cut off by phone and road, has also caused a lot of anxiety.
The town's 8000 residents have no phone service, only one day's worth of food and enough drinking water for two days.
Civil Defence had one phone call with the town overnight via a satellite phone and McAnulty says it was a relief that contact could be made.
McAnulty says the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle is "almost beyond belief".
