Death toll Cyclone Gabrielle

A temporary morgue has been set up at Napier Port amid fears more people will be found dead in the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Likewise, Waikato, Thames, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu and Whangarei are all also “fortunate to be scaling down their emergency response and entering the recovery phase”, Hipkins said. Officers were also unable to confirm whether there had been any new fatalities linked to the area. This is despite emergency teams bravely making more than 450 rescues during the height of the storm, including plucking some people by helicopter from roofs as floodwaters raged below. There is absolutely no doubt that communities affected by recent weather events are under enormous pressure,” he said. “We do need to prepare for the likelihood there will be more fatalities,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins warned in a press conference yesterday. Food, water, shelter and internet connections are being rushed into east coast regions still reeling in “shock” days after Gabrielle smashed into the country. In one home the Herald visited, silt and mud had almost filled some rooms. “We are still coming to terms with the news that Craig, our second firefighter caught in the Muriwai landslide, has died in hospital. At least half a dozen homes appear to be abandoned with significant flood damage along Dartmoor Rd in Puketapu, west of Napier. “A number of the people I spoke to are in somewhat of a state of shock. Thousands of homes – most in the Napier area – remain without power, while some residents in cut-off communities in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay have had to make purchases in cash only and have been faced with dwindling food and water supplies and long petrol queues. Surf club custodian Paul Newnham says a lot of land is still moving.

Facilities in Napier and Hastings announced as death toll climbs to seven with authorities warning that it is likely to rise further.

Communication and access to a number of areas remained difficult, while surveillance flights were being undertaken to survey the damage and identify those who may be isolated. They are held there before being taken to a mortuary,” police said. The Prime minister, Chris Hipkins, arrived in Napier on Friday morning. “When you look from up on the hill at the extent of the damage it really is confronting just the true extent of the challenge that these guys have got in front of them,” he told a reporter for the Severe storms have cut off entire towns, washed away farms, bridges and livestock, and inundated homes, stranding people on rooftops. A body was also found near Napier on Friday morning, police confirmed on Friday afternoon.

Attention is turning to recovery efforts in the worst-hit regions. These include Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, Napier and Hawke's Bay, Coromandel, and Northland. Fears ...

"Auckland businesses are still recovering from the impact of Covid-19 and the recent flooding has just been another blow in what’s been a few very tough years. Residents are returning to the town now. It has been an extraordinary weather event and we will absolutely be focused on doing everything we can to support them." The Hawke's Bay Regional Council says emergency power is being provided for a local medical centre, Countdown supermarket, and Caltex petrol station. If people receive a call that they are unsure about, they should hang up and call the organisation back on their official listed number." "It's incredibly overwhelming when you see some of the images that we're all seeing. "All the trees right in front of us were just going 'boom, boom, boom, boom'. "Communications remain limited and the road in and out is currently being restricted to essential freight convoys while it’s repaired. "This link between Napier and Hastings is vital. The vast majority are from Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti. “We are still coming to terms with the news that Craig, our second firefighter caught in the Muriwai landslide, has died in hospital. "I started to hear a ‘glug glug’ type noise.