Eight people are confirmed dead after Cyclone Gabrielle and authorities have "grave fears" for others, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says.
- 'Need all the love we can get': mum of drowned toddler
- ‘Rock n Roll Craig’: tributes to Muriwai firefighter
Police this afternoon said they were investigating a death in Puketapu, west of Napier, and believed the person died after being caught in flood water.
Formal identification is yet to take place, but Stuff earlier reported that Gabrielle had claimed an eighth victim, a 59-year-old woman who was found dead in the roof cavity of her cottage in the settlement.
Marie Greene was found by her landlord’s son, her Wellington-based daughter Rachel told Stuff.
A ninth death - the father of former Kiwis league star Issac Luke - has also been reported after he was caught in a slip caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Addressing media this evening Hipkins said the situation in Hawke’s Bay is "very rough". There is no power in Napier and evacuation centres are full, the PM says.
Hipkins’ visit to Hawke’s Bay and the devastated Esk Valley community today coincided with news this morning a 2-year-old girl had been swept away there in rising floodwaters. This came after news overnight that a second volunteer fireman had died after being caught in a landslide at Muriwai while attempting to save a woman’s house.
“I saw first-hand today just how much Cyclone Gabrielle is going to affect the country,” Hipkins said.
On the death toll, Hipkins said it was not likely to be “huge numbers”, but more likely a few people at a time.
The Esk Valley was “full of mud”. Water and mud was destroying homes and crops. Generators were being brought to a central point in Napier.
It was likely the effects of the cyclone would be felt for “quite some time”.
Hipkins confirmed eight people had died and said emergency services held grave concerns for more deaths. There were 4549 people uncontactable and every resource available was being used to assist in searching for people missing - including a team from Australia which arrived today.
Hipkins said 62,000 remained without power.
Authorities were working on cell tower coverage, which had been returned to about 70 percent of people in affected areas, getting fuel tankers into affected areas, and getting safe water back into Gisborne households.
Air Commodore Darryn Webb from NZ Defence Force said on the East Coast a ship had dropped off supplies in Tokomaru Bay. Resources to assist with water supply and power were also arriving.
The team was also identifying further areas for helicopters to arrive. In Wairoa a water treatment plant had been set up.
A C-130 Hercules has just departed Auckland with water treatment facilities for Gisborne.
In Hawke’s Bay a ship with 26 tonnes of supplies on board had arrived and the army had established a headquarters in Napier.
Webb said they were prepared to construct temporary bridges as needed.
“It is an extraordinary time and we are seeing an extraordinary effort from some amazing New Zealanders.”
The prime minister said there was still a huge way to go in response, with some small communities still cut off and isolated. He said food and other supplies were making their way in through road and sea, and connectivity was returning - patchy and better in some areas than others.
"I saw first-hand today though just how much Cyclone Gabrielle is going to affect the whole country. We do need to prepare ourselves for the fact that it's going to disrupt some parts of our food supply."
Speaking to media earlier this afternoon, he said there was is no question Cyclone Gabrielle is a "major catastrophic event".
Earlier today, Gisborne residents were told to “stop using water now” as the region faces more setbacks due to the failure of a water treatment plant at Waipaoa.
Emergency supplies have made it into Gisborne today but fresh water access continues to pose major problems.
Tairāwhiti Civil Defence said: ”This is a major crisis our city has no water. Don’t turn your taps on.”
In Auckland, a fresh evacuation order was issued for residents in Muriwai today.
Muriwai Volunteer Fire Brigade issued an urgent notice asking Domain Cres residents to evacuate immediately: ”We have been advised by Auckland Council Emergency Management that all residents still occupying houses on Domain Cres are to evacuate immediately,” the fire brigade said.
”If you know of people still there please contact them to pass on this message.”
Further south on Auckland’s west coast, people were still being evacuated from their homes in Piha as land remains dangerous and unstable days after Cyclone Gabrielle, RNZ reports. Locals are warning city sightseers to stay away from the Auckland beach community, saying they are still in the middle of an emergency.
Surf club custodian Paul Newnham says a lot of land is still moving. “There’s still boulders the size of cars falling out of some of these things,” he says.
Meanwhile, state highway links in several areas of the North Island are re-opening as floodwaters recede and slip debris is cleared - but Waka Kotahi is urging people only to travel where and when necessary.
Authorities say the death toll in Hawke’s Bay is likely to rise in the coming days. “We do need to prepare for the likelihood there will be more fatalities,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins warned in a press conference yesterday.
At least half a dozen homes appear to be abandoned with significant flood damage along Dartmoor Rd in Puketapu, west of Napier.
According to residents, police were unable to provide any concrete details on when power or telecommunications would be restored or when supplies like fuel, water or portaloos might be provided. Officers were also unable to confirm whether there had been any new fatalities linked to the area.
- additional reporting RNZ
