Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay residents are struggling with the mental impact of relentless rains and flooding.

Wairoa's recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle has hit a setback after the latest deluge, its deputy mayor says. Audio

Inspector Matt Broderick said police impounded 42 cars in the previous week, compared to about 25 cars in a normal week.

Daryl Gilbert put his aunt and sister in a boat tethered to the roof where the rest of his whānau waited for hours above floodwaters.

The expert says homes in floodplains that are inundated regularly, or quickly, will likely keep getting struck over and over again unless expensive protections are built.

Hawke's Bay hospitality businesses are pinning their hopes on the reopening of the state highway network to return trade to some semblance of normality after Cyclone Gabrielle.

The number of people uncontactable after Cyclone Gabrielle has been revised after a new report was made.

A man found dead following the devastating floods lost his wife to an aggressive form of cancer just eight months earlier.

"If the insurance companies are to do the work that they would normally do, they'd wanna get on with that now," Grant Robertson says. Audio

Regions across the country are preparing for more rain as MetService issues a number of severe weather warnings.

Out in Pakowhai, one local 'superhero' is doing his best to brighten spirits in a flooded and muddy community.

A Pakowhai truck driver struggling to save three family homes says he has already lost all his belongings and pets to the Cyclone Gabrielle floods and does not want to lose the houses as well.

Water restrictions imposed in central Hawke's Bay are easing, but locals are still being careful - some, too careful.

Medicine and vital supplies are being air dropped to isolated Hawkes Bay communities after doctors and welfare teams flew in to check on them.

Reports of looting and crime have been exaggerated, and are being used as a "political football", say police officers on the ground.