The North Island's east coast was battered with rain and wind on Wednesday as Cyclone Hale moved down the country. Scroll down for a recap of 1News' minute-by-minute coverage of the day's events.
What you need to know
- MetService says the lower half of the island is next in the firing line.
- It comes as Tairāwhiti residents woke this morning to a state of local emergency, which began at 10pm last night.
- A number of roads are closed around the North Island.
- A number of severe weather warnings and watches are in place.
7.01pm: That concludes 1News' live updates for tonight. For a recap of the day's events as it happened, scroll down.
6.30pm: All the day's events are wrapped up in our 1News at 6pm videos below:
The big concern is damage to the road network, with bridges destroyed by surging river levels and debris. (Source: 1News)
Members have already dismantled some of the building to avoid further damage. (Source: 1News)
5.30pm: The latest MetService rain radar image shows a much clearer picture for the sodden east coast of the North Island.
5pm: A quick reminder to tune in to 1News at 6pm on TVNZ1 and OnDemand.
Our team will be reporting in from affected areas around the country with the latest on Cyclone Hale and its aftermath.
4.50pm:
4.30pm: Aerial images supplied by the Gisborne Council from a reconnaissance flight today show the massive scale of flooding left by Cyclone Hale.
Cyclone Hale's impacts can clearly be seen from a reconnaissance flight. (Source: Supplied)
4.05pm: In other weather related news, 2022 was New Zealand's hottest year on record.
Click here to read more on this story.
3.40pm: Incredible drone footage taken by a 1News cameraman shows a sea of logs washed onto a property near Gisborne by Cyclone Hale.
The incredible images show the power of the cyclone that swept through the region. (Source: 1News)
3.10pm: Some of the latest information from Tairāwhiti Civil Defence:
Rain has lightened up considerably and things are expected to improve as the system moves south. Periods of light rain set to continue over next three days.
SH 35 remains closed from Tolaga Bay to Ruatoria. Waka Kotahi is making assessments with more information expected around 4pm. This doesn’t mean the road will reopen then.
SH 35 from Hicks Bay to Te Araroa closed due to significant flooding.
SH2 road is clear to Wairoa but is closed between Wairoa and Napier.
There are 51 local roads closed around the district, roading crews are working together with Eastland Network to restore power to communities and clear issues.
Rainfall totals over the 24hr period 224.5mm Waikura Valley, 207mm Hikuwai River, Mangaheia 200mm, Ruatoria 185.5mm, Stout Street 102.4 and Gisborne Airport 81.4m
2.30pm: The latest from MetService.
2.10pm: The top of the South Island is the latest region in the cyclone's firing line.
Footage supplied to 1News shows flooding on State Highway 1 as a traveller makes his way to Picton for a ferry.
1.30pm: As the rain moves south, here is the latest MetService rain radar image.
12.30pm: A large slip is threatening a home on Hill Road, Whataupoko, Gisborne.
Workers on diggers are clearing the debris.
12.20pm:
11.45am: A 1News cameraman has captured dramatic drone vision of an angry sea lapping at the base of the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga.
Locals are rushing to erect defences to save the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga. (Source: 1News)
"We acknowledge this is a valuable community asset and support the efforts of the local volunteers who are currently removing the deck in pieces," Mayor Len Salt said of the building this morning.
The deck is being removed as ocean water has "undercut" it.
11.30am: Tairāwhiti Civil Defence controller Nedine Thatcher Swann has given an update via the Gisborne District Council.
We're asking everyone to please be patient and continue to avoid all unnecessary travel.
"We have multiple road closures, there is still surface flooding and as more people get out and about this morning we are hearing more reports of large cracks in roads.
"Tikitiki is isolated from both ends and the internet is down, so we have been unable to make contact with anyone there for more than 12 hours, this is a priority for our teams today to make a connection to see how they fared overnight."
11.15am: Click the link below for a photo gallery and videos of damage caused by Cyclone Hale.
Photos, video show flooding, damage in Tairāwhiti
11.05am: More road updates as slips continue to cause issues on state highways.
10.50am:
10.15am: There has been a bit of fun and games in Tolaga Bay amid the wind and rain of Cyclone Hale.
Luke Leydon captured some kids on boogie boards being towed through the water, their whoops, laughs and screams drowning out the sound of rain.
Luke Leydon captured the fun as a bunch of kids refused to let the weather stop them having some adventure. (Source: Supplied)
10am: Gisborne District Council says the region is not out of the woods yet, with more rain to come.
There are power outages across the region, with about 1270 homes without power.
Rivers are still high, it said, and continue to be monitored. Hikuwai River at Willowflat peaked at 13.5m, Waikohu River at Bridge 3.6m, Waimata River at Goodwins 8.3m, Te Arai River at Pykes Weir at 2.1m.
"The state of emergency remains in place with our focus on restoring power and access to all our cut off communities, but it may take time."
In Tolaga Bay, a number of roads have been impacted, with Wigan Bridge covered in slash and part of Arakihi Rd resembling a waterfall.
9.40am: The clean up after yesterday's wild weather has begun in Coromandel.
Thames-Coromandel Mayor Len Salt said in a statement: "Our district has fortunately not been as badly damaged as it could have been – and while it's been a rough night, I'm pleased to say things have eased off now.
"Now the rain has cleared, we are going to get the clean up done fairly quickly."
Salt also acknowledged the damage caused by erosion at the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga, adding that the club's relocation has been discussed for "a number of years" and that the building was constructed in a way that it could be moved if needed.
"We acknowledge this is a valuable community asset and support the efforts of the local volunteers who are currently removing the deck in pieces," he said.
9.10am: Waka Kotahi report a number of state highways are closed around the North Island:
- In Coromandel, SH25 is closed between between Te Puru and Tapu until further notice due to a slip.
- SH25A between Hikuai and Kopu is closed until further notice due to a slip.
- SH25 is closed from Hikuai Settlement Rd to Tairua Township is closed until further notice due to flooding.
- In Tairāwhiti, SH35 is closed between Okitu and Ruatoria due to the severe weather until further notice.
- In Hawke's Bay, SH2 is closed between Tangoio and Tutira due to a slip until further notice.
- In Manawatū-Whanganui, SH57 is closed between Shannon and Tokomaru due to strong winds until further notice.
The Mercury Bay Boating Club was squarely in Cyclone Hale's firing line overnight. (Source: 1News)
Information about local road closures is available on local council websites.
9.00am: MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane confirmed most of the rain overnight was concentrated on eastern parts of the North Island, with some "curling around" to the Taranaki region as well.
Between midnight and 7am this morning, Dawson Falls in Taranaki saw the most rainfall with about 67mm.
"It is an elevated area so we would typically expect it to get a bit more rainfall than places closer to the coast," Makgabutlane said.
Gisborne also saw plenty of rain, with about 57mm recorded at one station between midnight and 7am, she added.
"So that's quite a lot of rain to fall, especially considering the amount of rain that has already in those regions," Makgabutlane said.
"For today, the places that we're expecting the rain to start being concentrated is the lower part of that eastern North Island."
And the strongest gusts overnight were detected in the Hawke's Bay, reaching a high of about 100km/h in Māhia overnight.
8.00am: A number of severe weather warnings and watches ended overnight, but some remain in force, according to MetService.
Heavy rain warnings are in place for Hawke's Bay until 10am today, the eastern hills and ranges of Wairarapa until 9pm tonight, and Tararua Range until 10pm tonight.
Heavy rain watches are in place for central North Island hills and mountains (especially about and south of Tongariro National Park) until 10pm tonight, Mount Taranaki until 11pm tonight, and Marlborough and Canterbury coast from Cape Campbell to Kaikōura and the Seaward Kaikōura Range until 9pm tonight.
A strong wind watch is in place for southern Taranaki, coastal Whanganui, Manawatū (especially near the Gorge), Horowhenua, Kapiti and Wellington until 2am tomorrow.
"People are urged to keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings, and to stay alert to bulletins from local authorities," MetService said.
7.30am: High tide slammed into the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Coromandel last night, forcing members to rip parts of the deck away.
Sea surges chewed through a further two metres of bank, which left the veranda dangling precariously over the edge.
A clearly distraught Jonathan Kline told 1News late last night he'd be at the club for another couple of hours.
He said the deck could still slip into the water, and they would reassess the situation at daybreak.
There are concerns that more land may slip into the ocean which would make relocation of the clubhouse difficult.
Whitianga resident Warren Harris, who's lived in the area for three decades, said it's the worst he's ever seen.
Harris said he has been asking local councils to build a sea wall for years.
The water caused a section of his driveway to swell by 300mm.
A nearby property appears to have escaped major flooding but large parts of the front lawn have been washed away.
Other properties clearly show how high the sea water reached, once it breached land.
7.00am: Tairāwhiti woke to a state of local emergency this morning. On the Gisborne District Council website, it explains: "The state of local emergency comes into force immediately and expires 7 days after 10pm 10 January 2023, unless lifted earlier."
Hikuwai River at Willowflat reached 13.2m overnight, with residents in the area self-evacuating.
The council said 387 residents in Matawai spent the night without power, as the conditions were too dangerous for crews to carry out checks.
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