A person has been found dead on the shore in Napier's Bay View amid intense flooding in the region this evening.
Emergency services were called to the scene about 7.45pm, police said.
Formal identification is yet to take place. The coroner has been notified.
Hawke's Bay has been one of the regions hardest hit by Cyclone Gabrielle, with Napier having its second wettest February day on record.
Large parts of Napier, Hastings and the wider cape have been left without power or communications, while several bridges have been washed away as rivers swell throughout the area.
Drone footage showed State Highway 51 awash with a sea of muddy water.
Residents in Omahu and Taradale were forced to evacuate after the Tutaekuri River and Ngaruroro River breached its stopbanks.
Hastings and Napier residents have been asked to conserve water "as much as possible" after the storm "inundated the wastewater network".
SHARE ME