RNZ understands communities in cut-off regions have limited reception and are unable to download articles and live updates which contain visuals and other embedded information. Updates posted here will contain text only, specifically so those of you in this position can read them.
These updates will be aimed at people in Piha, Coromandel Peninsula, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne/ Tairāwhiti.
For Thursday's updates please go to the latest live updates page
Please look for your region, new updates will have the time they are being posted so people have the most current information.
* Read more: Live Cyclone Gabrielle updates: Trail of destruction, thousands evacuated
Piha
5.42pm: Auckland Emergency Management has contracted a private helicopter to help deliver supplies to the region's coastal communities cut off by road.
It delivered food and welfare supplies to the Karekare community this afternoon. Response teams have also been dropped into the area to undertake welfare checks.
4.34pm: AEM is asking those who have evacuated their homes in Karekare not to return until they have been assessed and decalred safe. The ground is unstable, the soil is saturated and there may be new ground movement in days to come, officials say.
4.30pm: Auckland Emergency Management says it will fly in supplies to areas of the region's western coast with no power and road access. About 300 homes in Muriwai are in peril from slips, while 20 homes were evacuated in Piha on Tuesday and slips have destroyed five homes in Karekare.
Karekare resident and former Waitakere City Mayor Sir Bob Harvey says they have been walking in food supplies. He says the surf club has a power generator and is a lifeline for the Karekare community.
4.18pm: Auckland Emergency Management says the west coast settlements of Piha and Karakare remain cut off due to significant damage to roads.
It's looking at making deliveries by air and potentially getting people out who want to leave. People are being advised to remain vigilant due to the chance of further slips.
Hawke's Bay
9.51pm: SH51 between Napier & Hastings has opened and SH51 between Napier and Clive has reopened following assessment by engineers. Civil Defence says it's really important the road is only used for essential travel for now. Much of it will be under 30km/hr speed limit with stop/go management between the Clive River Bridge and Farndon Road, just north of the bridge. SH50 remains closed.
9.34pm: In Hastings, Civil Defence are asking people to be sensible and conserve fuel. They say no further tankers are confirmed to come into the region yet and there is a finite amount of gas that some stations have. People are asked to only travel for essentials like medicine and food.
9.27pm: Napier's drinking water is safe to drink but people need to use as little as possible. People are urged to stay away from floodwater - because it's contaminated - and to wash their hands if they touch it. The council says people should stay with family or friends if they cannot return home and to go to the Centennial Events Centre at McLean Park if they have nowhere to go. People are encouraged to help their neighbours and share key information.
9.10pm: A reminder Hastings water is safe to drink except for Te Pohue water which must be boiled alonwith water in Central Hawke's Bay. Some confusion has arisen due to a TV news report tonight.
9.06pm: Civil Defence officials are reminding people affected by the cyclone they may be able to get a Civil Defence payment. To inquire call Ministry of Social Development on 0800 400 100 8am-5pm Thursday and Friday.
9pm: NZ Post is offering four months of free postal redirection for those with red and yellow stickered homes in flood-stricken areas. Take a form of identification to a postcentre to create an account and let the postcentre staff know to write "Free Flood Redirection" on the form. It will apply for four months with extensions possible.
8.48pm: Hawke's Bay residents are posting on a Facebook group about missing friends and whanau. The group, HB Floods Lost Family & Friends, has only been running a few hours but already has several posts from people who can't find their loved ones. The police said earlier they have received 1400 reports of missing people - some are of the same people - and while they expect most are safe, they do hold concerns for some.
8.44pm: The Wairoa District Council has posted an update:
- The main area that was impacted was the North Clyde side towards Frasertown. There was limited impact on the southern side of town.
- Electricity is still patchy in town and some of the outer district is without power
- There is no internet or phone reception.
- As roads are re-opened we are reconnecting with our rural whānau. There are areas we have not yet been able to make contact with yet.
- The Te Reinga Bridge is still closed to vehicles and pedestrians and will be reassessed.
- National assistance is starting to trickle in, limited to a few agency representatives.
- Bridges on SH2 to Napier have been washed away, we are prioritising access to Gisborne and SH38.
- The road between Wairoa and Mahia is open.
8.40pm: Napier City Council is reminding people to look to friends / family first if you need a place to stay. If you have nowhere to go, the Centennial Events Centre at McLean Park on Latham Street is open. There are limited resources there, but you will be safe. If you need welfare assistance, call 105 or the Customer Service Centre on 06 835 7579.
8.30pm Caltex Napier has re-opened tonight but has long queues.
8.05pm: Authorities hope to reopen SH51 between Napier and Hastings within the next 12 to 24 hours. Ian MacDonald from Hawke's Bay Civil Defence says when the road does reopen there will be restrictions and he warns that more rain is forecast.
7.53pm: A Defence Force operation is beginning tonight to supply Wairoa with food and water. A rapid relief team flown in by the airforce is organising a drop of bottled water for 3000 people from a helicopter this evening.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says the team is also providing BBQ meals for a similar number of people this evening, and will provide 300 to 500 food packages in the morning. Three Air Force helicopters also carried out evacuations today. The army has deployed a logistics support team of 100 people and 30 vehicles to Hawke's Bay, while the Air Force today surveyed damage along the east coast.
7.30pm: Hawke's Bay Civil Defence says some people have been abusive when trying to access fuel in the region. Ian Macdonald from Civil Defence says people need to be patient and kind and remember the region is in the midst of a disaster.
6.10pm: Wairoa District Council is reassuring people in other parts of the country that its residents are safe. In a message on social media the council says residents who needed to evacuate their homes are safe and being looked after in evacuation centres. It says restoring the town's internet and phone connections is a priority and once that happens people will be able to contact friends and whānau.
6.08pm: The Wairoa District Council emergency operations centre says its water treament plant is not working and people are doing their best to conserve drinking water, as it could run out by Friday. Spokesperson Juanita Savage says staff have been knocking on people's doors to help them stay connected, as there's no wifi or phone services either.
6.04pm: Lines company Unison is taking enough electricity to power 38,000 homes, up substantially from this morning. Transpower says it aims to get more power to its Whakatu substation in place of the damaged Redclyffe substation, to supply Unison. It says it has been assessing the damage to Redclyffe since getting back from an inspection this afternoon.
6pm: Prime Minister Chris Hipkijns says emergency services remain in "urgent response mode" in Hawke's Bay. He says there are seven outstanding requests for evacuation in the region and Wairoa is an area of particular concern. Between 300-500 food packages will be dropped in the town tomorrow. A water treatment facility will also be delivered by the Defence Force.
5.54pm: Residents of a Napier retirement village have been forced to evacuate twice since last night because of the threat of flooding. A spokesperson for Summerset Villages, Logan Mudge, says Summerset Palms in the seaside suburb of Te Awa was cleared last night and again this morning on Civil Defence advice.
He says it appears the houses themselves are safe and dry, but the flooding around the village makes it unsafe to stay there. Residents are at evacuation centres or with family and friends.
5.50pm: An initial look at the Napier - Palmerston North rail line has revealed significant damage between Napier and Clive, due to the massive floods, KiwiRail chief ops officer Siva Sivapakkiam says. This includes substantial damage to a rail bridge, which appears to have lost some of its spans and piers. Water levels need to go down before a detailed inspection starts on Friday.
5.47pm: The Central Hawke's Bay District Council is restoring the water supply in Waipawa and Waipukurau but warns it is not yet safe to drink. Residents should boil water until further notice.
The council says it will take time for the supply to pressurise and people should use water sparingly. In the meantime, people can get water from tankers in Waipukurau, Waipawa and Otāne.
5.24pm: Wairoa Mayor Criag Little has told RNZ he doesn't think they will be connected to Napier for many months and they are running low on fuel and food. He says he has never seen devastation like the aftermath of this cyclone. Wairoa has about three to four days of water left, but his district is in a bad way, he says.
5.12pm: Police say the bulk of the 1400 reports they have received of missing people are in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti - some people have been reported missing by several people. While they expect most will be accounted for, they hold grave fears for some. reports can be lodged via their number 105 once normal channels have been checked.
5.09pm: Police say a child's body has been recovered around 2pm today and they believe the child drowned in floodwaters in Eskdale yesterday. It brings the national toll from the storm to four, with three occurring in Hawke's Bay.
4.21pm: Napier City Council is appealing to residents to keep conserving water. It says the city's drinking water is safe to drink but level-five restrictions now apply. That means minimal toilet flushing, one-minute showers, no use of dishwashers, and doing laundry by hand.
4.09pm: Z Energy has reopened three of its seven service stations in the region.
4pm: Fire and Emergency says more urban search and rescue crews are heading to the region to help firefighters with rescues and evacuations. Three teams of six specialists arrived yesterday and additional teams are due today bringing drones and geotechnical expertise. FENZ has received around 180 calls for help so far this afternoon.
3.23pm: The Ministry of Primary Industries is helping with animals
- awem@mpi.govt.nz or 04 8940132 for animal rescue or evacuation or to get accommodation
- Missing horses - list on www.lostpet.co.nz and share on equine Facebook pages
3.17pm: Napier's Art Deco festival - due to start tomorrow - has been cancelled.
3.16pm: Hawke's Bay Emergency Management is trying to correct misinformation about SH51, which connects Napier and Hastings via the coast. The road is closed between Napier and Clive and between Napier Road and Elwood Road. SH2 is closed between Hastings and Napier but is open south of Hastings.
3.11pm: Countdown Carlyle and Countdown Napier are still closed.
2.50pm: Napier Port says it will remain closed for shipping at least until midday Thursday. Operations have been suspended since Monday, and inspections have so far found only minor damage.
2.40pm Foodstuffs says the New World in Wairoa is open and is well stocked, however, it is appealing to people to only buy what they need.
2.26pm: Latest from Hawke's Bay Civil Defence:
- 25 active requests for assistance in region, including people trapped in houses, on roofs
- Getting assessment of damage, restoring power and roads are priorities
- It's challenging to assist areas away from Hastings and Napier without power and comms, but people are travelling to more isolated areas today
- Roads especially between Napier and Hastings need to kept clear for emergency services vehicles and those delivering essential supplies. Anyone travelling for non-urgent reasons can expect to be stopped by police.
2.13pm: And the latest on road closures:
- SH2 between Ōpōtiki and Gisborne and then Gisborne to Napier CLOSED
- SH2 between Napier and Hastings CLOSED
- SH5 between Napier and Taupō CLOSED
- SH51 between Napier and Clive CLOSED
- SH51 between Napier Road and Elwood Road CLOSED
- SH50 Expressway between Napier and Hastings CLOSED
- SH50 between Takapau and Hastings CLOSED
2pm: Waka Kotahi advises SH1 Marton is now open between Calico Line and Wings Rd - it had been closed earlier due to flooding. In an update at 12.15pm it said SH2 is open between Waipawa and Waipukurau following the flooding.
2pm: A Defence Force ship is set to depart Devonport naval base for Napier today carrying supplies to assist with the recovery effort. The HMNZS Manawanui is expected to arrive tomorrow.
1.55pm: A caller has advised RNZ St Andrews Church in Hastings is open for people needing to charge devices and/or have some lunch. The address is the corner of Linden & Market Street, Hastings.
1.50pm: The Ministry of Education says it understands that there are widespread school closures across the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne region and unless parents hear from their school, they should assume it is closed.
"The closures are likely to continue for the rest of the week as schools will need time to assess the impact, once safe to do so, and make decisions on whether they will be able to open this week or next, from a health and safety perspective."
1.30pm: Wairoa mayor Craig Little has requested urgent assistance and says the isolated community only has enough food, water and fuel to last the next few days.
Little says parts of the district are devastated and desperately need help.
He says the North Clyde side of Wairoa has been severly impacted and hundreds of people have been evacuated.
He says damage to the roading network and the lack of phone and internet connnections mean many people in the community are yet to be contacted.
1.20pm: Residents remain unable to call 111.
At this afternoon's briefing in Auckland, Fire and Emergency response coordinator Vaughan Mackereth says communications are limited as firefighters and rescuers resort to satellite phones.
12.30pm: RNZ reporter in Hastings: People looking for loved ones can log a "Person Inquired For" request via the police website or call police on 105.
12.15: From MetService - There are no severe weather watches or warnings in place for Hawke's Bay. The rainfall warning for the region is lifted. However, rivers are still extremely high and conditions are hazardous. Stay safe, stay informed and stay out of floodwaters, it advises.
As well, people are urged to stay off the roads and away from beaches and coastal areas. Farmers and lifestyle block owners need to consider how and where you will relocate stock in a flood situation. Move stock and equipment out of low-lying areas.
Earlier:
Wairoa District Council is communicating with the outside world via satellite.
A woman died in Putorino overnight, in northern Hawke's Bay after a bank collapsed onto her home, Hawke's Bay Civil Defence said.
Houses in the region were also underwater and roads washed out following Tuesday's extraordinary amount of rain.
People were rescued from their roofs by helicopters and boats to escape rapidly rising floodwaters.
Civil Defence said they did not know how many people took shelter in evacuation centres, but the Hastings Sports Centre was nearing capacity last night.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says Fire and Emergency is on the ground today, getting to isolated communities and checking on people.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise says people in the city's Te Awa Estate and surrounding suburbs should have grab bags ready for evacuation.
Wise said there were concerns the stopbank breach would cause more widespread flooding.
She said communications were still patchy in the region and radio was the best way to receive information from Civil Defence.
Transpower said it would be challenging to get full power supply restored to the region.
It announced a national grid emergency yesterday after its Redclyffe substation was flooded.
Gisborne / Tairāwhiti
9pm: NZ Post is offering four months of free postal redirection for those with red and yellow stickered homes in flood-stricken areas. Take a form of identification to a postcentre to create an account and let the postcentre staff know to write "Free Flood Redirection" on the form. It will apply for four months with extensions possible.
7.54pm: The HMNZS Manawanui is expected to arrive at first light in Gisborne, delivering water supplies to small communities on its way.
7.17pm: Tairāwhiti Civil Defence says Gisborne's water supply is in crisis and businesses have been asked to stop all water use. In an update this evening, it says demand for water is exceeding suupply and there are multiple breaks in its pipes.
6.55pm: Civil Defence's Ben Green adds: "For the third day the region remains cut off with no road access in or out of the district, and no internet or cellphone coverage. Cellphone coverage remains out and national planning is working out options to restore access, however, there is no timeframe available."
6.53pm: The latest message from Tairāwhiti Civil Defence group controller Ben Green: "We'd like to thank our community again for everything they're doing, it's making a difference as we all get through this together. It will be a few more days before we can restore access to our region ..."
6.33pm: Paramedics and rescue helicopters have been up and down the east coast today dropping off supplies and assessing the welfare of residents cut off. SH35 from Gisborne to Hicks Bay is still closed and many other roads are down with no way in or out. In Ruatorea, Trust Tairāwhiti Rescue Helicopter dropped off medical supplies from Uawa Tolaga Bay and down to Tokomaru Bay.
6.15pm: Mainfreight's boss Don Braid says the company's priority is making contact with the region so that they can then provide the area with supplies. He wants to get clean water and food to the area as soon as possible, saying the business will use different sizes of vehicle for the operation.
6pm: More power is available to reconnect cut-off households in Tairāwhiti than the damaged lines can handle. Transpower says enough power is available for 30,000 homes but so far Eastland Network is taking enough for 24,000, indicating lines are damaged.
5.21pm: Petrol and water remain in short supply in Gisborne. People have been asked to reduce their use to a quarter or the taps will run dry and big fruit and vegetable growers are being asked to limit water. There's a $40 cap has put on all fuel purchases.
The Ministry of Education has confirmed all schools are closed until Monday.
Power is till out to 4500 customers, including more than 1600 in Wairoa, and there's no timeframe yet on when supply will be restored.
5.12pm: Police say the bulk of the 1400 reports they have received of missing people are in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti - some people have been reported missing by several people. While they expect most will be accounted for, they hold grave fears for some. reports can be lodged via their number 105 once normal channels have been checked.
4.24pm: The National Party is supporting calls for an independent inquiry into forestry practice on the East Coast after the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle. National's leader Christopher Luxon says some hard questions need to be asked.
4.05pm: Z Energy says it has more than two weeks' supply of fuel in Tairāwhiti, which is cut off from tankers getting through by road. And it's working closely with the government to supply diesel direct to emergency services from mini tankers.
3.40pm: Tūhoe says it's made contact with people living at Lake Waikaremoana who are okay. Te Uru Taumatua says the area has supplies of food and fresh water. It says there are significant slips on the road through Te Urewera, but assessments are yet to begin.
3.30pm: The Eastland power provider is asking those who have power on to conserve it as it works to fix many faults around the region. Generators are being used in Ruatoria, Te Araroa, Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay townships to keep their power on. It says people without power need to be prepared for situation to continue for another few days.
3.13pm: Countdown Gisborne is still closed.
3.05pm: Tairaawhiti Civil Defence is warning residents to look out for signs a landslide is about to happen.
Signs include small slips and rockfalls, house doors and windows that stick and new cracks or bulges in the ground or in retaining walls. To report issues to Civil Defence call 0800 653 800.
2.15pm: From Waka Kotahi: SH35 between Hicks Bay and Gisborne is CLOSED
SH2 between Ōpōtiki and Gisborne and then Gisborne to Napier CLOSED
1.20pm: Residents in Gisborne also remain unable to call 111.
At this afternoon's briefing in Auckland, Fire and Emergency response coordinator Vaughan Mackereth says communications are limited as firefighters and rescuers resort to satellite phones.
1.15pm: Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz says they have about 200 people in their evacuation centre. She says she doesn't know of any injuries or fatalities in the region.
Stoltz warns the region cannot afford to waste any water.
Earlier:
Limited power was back in parts of Gisborne on Wednesday morning.
Communications with the region were still limited, and it could take weeks to get power and communications back up and running.
Residents in the region were also 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 said 22,000 copies of the Gisborne Herald are being delivered today with messages about the latest situation.
She urges people not to panic buy groceries and says supermarkets will slowly reopen from today.
Waikato including Coromandel Peninsula
11.38pm: SH25 is still closed by slips in two places - between Ruamahanga Bay and Tapu and Te Rerenga to Kūaotunu. Other parts of SH25 are open but many areas are one lane only. SH2 Paeroa and Waihi through the Karangahake Gorge is now open but for essential travel only.
10.16pm: Waka Kotahi says roads are open again between Thames and Matarangi. SH25 remains closed between Ruamahanga Bay and Tapu.
7.57pm: The power company Powerco says supply has been restored to Tairua in the Coromandel Peninsula. It still has 8800 customers without power - down from 19,000 yesterday. Most customers waiting to be reconnected are in the Coromandel - where 5500 are without power.
5.45pm: Thames-Coromandel Civil Defence says it's aiming to get help to farmers in the remote northern part of the peninsula who are fast running out of fuel for generators.
Civil Defence controller Garry Towler says slips have cut off farms around Mercury Bay and fuel is needed to run milking sheds. The focus tomorrow will be to get support to these farmers.
5.30pm: Waka Kotahi says travel to and from the Coromandel should be possible from tomorrow morning, providing the roads don't deteriorate further. There have been a number of large slips across the region limiting access to SH2 through the Karangahake Gorge and around SH25. Spokesperson Cara Lauder says they've made tremendous progress in clearing slips but caution is still advised.
2.40pm: Foodstuffs says it is working hard to getting supplies for supermarkets to East Cape and Coromandel, Tairua in particular. Staff were looking at alternative ways to get stock in, other than by road.
12.50pm: Thames-Coromandel Civil Defence controller Garry Towler says it is critical to get power back to Tairua and Pauanui.
Over 45000 properties are without power and Towler says generators running critical infrastructure for water and wastewater are maxing out.
He says the communities are coming to the end of their third day without power and it is a serious situation.
The council are working with Powerco and Waka Kotahi to get access into those towns.
Earlier:
Flooding, slips, storm surges and significant storm debris were reported in many areas around the region.
Power outages were also being reported by all network companies in the Waikato region.
Communities, such as Leamington in Waipa District, lost power early Tuesday morning and it is not expected to be restored until tonight.
The lines company and other network providers are posting estimated restoration times online.
However, if a suburb or its surrounding areas were affected by more than one outage, it was recommended that people plan to be without power until the latest time indicated.
National Emergency Management Agency advice:
- Put safety first. Don't take any chances. Act quickly if you see rising water. Floods and flash floods can happen quickly. If you see rising water do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and stay away from floodwater.
- Stay at home if it is safe to do so. But have an evacuation plan in case your home becomes unsafe to stay in.
- If you have evacuated, please stay where you are until you are given the all-clear to go home.
- People should stay up to date with the forecasts from MetService and continue to follow the advice of Civil Defence and emergency services.
- Do not try to walk, play, swim, or drive in floodwater: even water just 15 centimetres deep can sweep you off your feet, and half a metre of water will carry away most vehicles. Flood water is often contaminated and can make you sick.
