Long-standing gang tensions are sparking firearms incidents in flood-struck regions, police say, as some communities set up checkpoints in fear of looting.
Police Eastern District commander Jeanette Park said in a media conference on Sunday afternoon that officers were focused on being visible around the community.
"Gang tensions have been in the Eastern District for many, many years, and prior to Cyclone Gabrielle," she said.
Some locals in the region have set up their own road blocks around towns. (Source: 1News)
The police's Eastern District includes Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.
Park said there was an incident on Sunday morning where a person allegedly "brandished a firearm" from a vehicle.
"This morning, we had an incident where [a person allegedly] put a firearm out the window [of a vehicle]," she said. "Just prior to coming to this briefing, the [alleged] gang member had been arrested, and the firearm had been seized."
The commander superintendent said there were an extra 120 police staff and more dog handlers being brought into the district to support cyclone recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, some communities have set up checkpoints and blockades due to fears of looting. Park said police were "definitely not" giving their authorisation for the checkpoints.
"This is our communities trying to look after their property. When you've lost everything, and you're trying to look after your home, you're trying to protect the property.
"You know, if I was in their shoes, you know they're fatigued. They're working, trying to look after a particular property. It's incredibly tough," the superintendent said.
She said police were working with communities to "talk to them and work through solving problems and solving how we can go forward".
On Thursday, five people were arrested after a commercial burglary in Hawke's Bay.
Officers are being flown into Hawke's Bay to bolster numbers on the ground. (Source: 1News)
When asked whether people were taking advantage of the cyclone, Park said there was "a lot of speculation" but that it was also a "tragic situation".
"I think there's a lot of speculation and a lot of rumours.
"I stand here now saying that; can [those] people put their feet in the shoes of the people that have been devastated by this disaster? Don't take advantage of people. It's cruel, it's unfair, and it's tragic.
"There's a tragic situation, and people shouldn't be doing that."
6000 now reported as being uncontactable
Police said 3000 people had since been contacted but that the list of people who were "non-contactable" had grown to over 6000.
Park cautioned that the number included multiple reports and that police were still in the process of reconciling figures.
"Multiple people have rung up several times about the same person," she said.
Park said nine people had died in the district as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, but didn't say whether any police were aware of any further bodies that were yet to be identified.
"The ones that we have confirmed are the ones that we have we know who they are. and that's the nine which I've advised," she said.
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