Cyclone Gabrielle updates
15 Feb, 2023 09:51 PM

Four people - including a young child, confirmed dead. Police say they have “grave fears” for at least several others;
At least 10,500 people displaced from homes, including 9000 in Hawke’s Bay with 3000 sheltering in Civil Defence centres;
144,000 properties remain without power
Police said today that 1442 people had been listed as uncontactable - while they expect this list to drop dramatically, there are fears for some missing people in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
Community fears are growing of multiple deaths in one of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Gabrielle, with coastal residents of Napier’s Bay View claiming they saw several bodies washed away by raging flood waters.
As Cyclone Gabrielle hammered the area, rescue helicopters were initially grounded due to dangerous flying conditions. But when the winds died down, many rescue flights took off, saving people from roofs and other areas where they had managed to find life-saving sanctuary.
Cyclone Gabrielle, now located well to the east of the North Island, is expected to continue moving away to the southeast of New Zealand. However, an associated front brings rain with heavy falls to parts of central New Zealand through until late Thursday morning, and Orange Warnings and Watches remain in place for some regions


Two navy ships are headed towards cut-off communities in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti as the Defence Force responds to a disaster that its commander has compared to Christchurch Earthquake.