Nine To Noon for Wednesday 15 February 2023

 

09:05 Cyclone Gabrielle: East Coast MP and Minister Kiritapu Allan

Communities up and down the East Coast remain cut off this morning with no way of knowing how they're faring in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Communication is down, State Highway 35 - the main roading lifeline in the region is badly damaged, and there has been widespread flooding - with rivers once again choked with forestry slash. Kiritapu Allan is East Coast MP as well as Minister for Regional Development and Associate Transport Minister.

09:15 Cyclone Gabrielle: Further evacuations near Napier might be needed

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise joins Kathryn for an update on the situation in the Napier area, warning that high tide may cause issues and that further evacuations might be needed. 

09:25 Cyclone Gabrielle: RNZ reporter Lauren Crimp in Hastings

RNZ reporter Lauren Crimp has been at an evacuation centre in Hastings, where residents are affected by flooding and power outages.

09:35 Cyclone Gabrielle: Waka Kotahi surveys damaged network

Roads around the upper North Island have been badly damaged - and in some cases have left communities completely isolated. To give a sense of the scale of the destruction and how long it might take to repair, Kathryn is joined by Waka Kotahi National Emergency Response Team spokesperson Mark Owen.

09:40 Cyclone Gabrielle: Gisborne residents asked to conserve water

Limited power is back in parts of Gisborne after the Tairawhiti region was cut off from the rest of the country by ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle. Communications with the region are still spotty, and it could take weeks to get power and communications back up and running. 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. Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz joins Kathryn by satellite phone.

09:45 Cyclone Gabrielle: Unison Network crews working to restore power in Hawkes Bay

Nearly 60-thousand people remain without power in Hastings and Napier, with warnings it could be days or weeks before power is returned to all customers. Transpower announced a national grid emergency yesterday after its Redclyffe substation was flooded. Unison, which owns and operates the network serving Hawkes Bay, Rotorua and Taupo, says its crews has been out trying to restore power where it was safe to do so - but a large portion of its Hawke's Bay customers are affected by the substation flooding. Danny Gough is a spokesperson for Unison.

09:50 Cyclone Gabrielle: RNZ reporter Kate Green

RNZ's Kate Green is in Gisborne, where communication remains a challenge and the local council has printed extra copies of the local newspaper to get the key information to residents.

09:55 Cyclone Gabrielle: Catastrophic conditions for farming and horticulture

The devastation wreaked by Cyclone Gabrielle on farming and horticulture is being described as catastrophic. Jim Galloway is the President of Hawkes Bay Federated Farmers and speaks Kathryn from a hill above his farm in Ruakawa - about 15 kilometres southwest of Hastings.

10:05 Cyclone Gabrielle: Evacuations in Te Awa Estate, Napier

Residents in Napier's Te Awa Estate near Marine Parade have been told to evacuate immediately due to rising flood waters. Civil Defence says this covers Kenny Drive north to Hurunui Drive. Civil Defence controller Ian Maxwell is based in Hastings and also looking after Wairoa.

10:15 Cyclone Gabrielle: Gisborne farmers grapple with destruction + lack of communication

Toby Williams is Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chairperson who farms at Whangara, between Tolaga Bay and Gisborne. He's managed to get Starlink to restore some of his communication ability, but knows many of his fellow farmers will be struggling with the amount of devastation the Cyclone has caused.

10:20 Cyclone Gabrielle: Hastings District Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst

Sandra joins Kathryn to talk about today's focus in the Hastings District - finding those residents who are still stranded and vulnerable. Access across the area remains a challenge, including across the Clive Bridge.

10:25 Cyclone Gabrielle: What's the situation with supermarket supplies?

Dozens of supermarkets in flood affected areas have been closed, and with roads out - getting supplies in is problematic. Foodstuffs NZ managing director and Chief Executive of Foodstuffs North Island Chris Quin joins Kathryn for an update.

10:35 Cyclone Gabrielle: Is there a break in the weather?

Cyclone Gabrielle is moving off to the east of New Zealand - and the sun is reportedly peeking through in many flood-hit areas. For an update on what we can expect from the weather over the next few days, Kathryn is joined by Angus Hine.

10:40 Cyclone Gabrielle: Forestry industry backs inquiry into slash

Forest owners in the Tolaga Bay area have come in for stinging criticism from locals as logs and silt clog farms, rivers and beaches for the second time in recent weeks, and the third time in the last year. Yesterday Tolaga Bay farmer Bridget Parker spoke of her frustration and the belief forestry operations were responsible for the degree of damage to her farm. The Forest owners Association is now backing a comprehensive enquiry into forestry saying old rules are no longer suitable and new land use rules are needed for all vulnerable soils. Don Carson is spokesperson for the Forest Owners Association.

10:50 Cyclone Gabrielle: Search back on for missing firefighter at Muriwai

The search continues for a volunteer firefighter missing since Monday night when he was caught in a landslide in Muriwai. He was was checking flooding in a property on Motutara Road when the property was hit by another house that collapsed during the widespread winds and rains unleashed by Cyclone Gabrielle. A second firefighter who was in the property at the time got out and was taken to hospital with critical injuries Search and rescue teams are back on the scene today. Rodney local board member Guy Wishart joins Kathryn for an update.

10:55 Cyclone Gabrielle: Waipawa evacuations and no water

200 people remain out of their homes in the central Hawkes Bay town of Waipawa after they were evacuated yesterday. The Tukituki River is receding and assessments on the homes will be made later today. The town has also lost its reticulated water supply. Central Hawkes Bay District mayor Alex Walker has an update.

11:05 Cyclone Gabrielle: Damage to Auckland roads unprecedented

Auckland Transport says damage to roads in the region is unprecedented. Stacey van der Putten is the agency's executive General Manager Safety and joins Kathryn for the latest.

11:15 Cyclone Gabrielle: Challenging times for the supply chains

Slips and flooding has caused major damage to roads both major and minor in the upper North - which in turn, is causing trouble for supply networks. Cyclone Gabrielle was the latest in a number of weather-related events that have caused headaches for the trucking industry. Nick Leggett is the CEO of Transporting New Zealand.

11:25 Cyclone Gabrielle: Water outages for some Auckland residents

Residents in several parts of Auckland have been asked to conserve water and to prepare for further water outages. Water treatment plants in Muriwai, Helensville and Wellsford have been affected by slips and flooding - and this caused issues for local reservoirs. Watercare incident controller Nigel Toms joins Kathryn for an update.

11:35 Cyclone Gabrielle: Kaipara residents affected by flooding

Heading North to Ruawai, near Dargaville now. Yesterday Nine to Noon talked to the devastated owner of Kaipara Kumara, Anthony Blundell whose total crop could be ruined. The District's former mayor and Ruawai farmer Jason Smith has been driving across the Ruawai plains this morning.

11:40 Cyclone Gabrielle: Work continues to getting internet up and running

Communications remains patchy or non-existent for many in Hawke's Bay or Gisborne areas. Paul Brislen is head of the Telecommunications Forum and is with us for an update.

11:42 Cyclone Gabrielle: Live update from the Beehive

Civil Defence Minister Kieran McAnulty and Defence Minister Andrew Little hold a media conference from the Beehive. About 9,000 people have been displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle, with 3,000 currently housed in Civil Defence centres.

11:55 Cyclone Gabrielle: Napier residents worried about food supplies

RNZ reporter Krystal Gibbens has been talking to those in Napier, where the power and internet supplies have been interrupted and there are limited places open to buy food.