Midday Report

Supplies are on the way to the isolated district of Wairoa, after fears that food and drinking water would run out.

But communications are mostly still down and people have been struggling to reach friends and whānau.

Wairoa District Council incident controller Juanita Savage spoke to Max Towle.

More bad weather is bearing down on already devastated communities today, as rescues and evacuations continue.

MetService has issued heavy rain warnings for Wairarapa where many roads are impassable, homes have been flooded, and stories are emerging of local rescue efforts.

And there's also a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo, Gisborne, and Hawkes Bay from three o'clock this afternoon until 10'clock tonight.

The Government is providing an initial four million dollars in funding support for farmers and growers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

It would be used to help support rural communities in regions that have declared a state of emergency.

The minister for agriculture Damien O'Connor spoke to Max Towle.

A body has been found by searchers looking for a missing firefighter under a collapsed house in Muriwai.

It's been more than 24 hours since Dave van Zwananberg went missing beneath the wreckage.

A colleague of his also caught in that slip, Craig Stevens, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

The body located today was yet to be retrieved and identified.

The United Fire Brigades Association Chair Peter Dunne spoke to Max Towle.

Tairāwhiti's connections to the outside world are severed - power is patchy, a fibre optic cable is down - affecting Internet and phone services; while many roads and bridges are damaged and unusable.

People in Gisborne are being asked to urgently reduce water use, or it will run out.

All schools, kura, and early learning services on the town's water supply have been asked to stay shut until Monday. 

Civil Defence controller Ben Green says while information is still being gathered, officials believe there have been no flood related injuries or deaths.

RNZ reporter Kate Green spoke to Max Towle from Gisborne.

News from the rural farming sector

Midday sports News for 15 February 2023 The Black Caps coach Gary Stead admits they are in a rebuilding stage with their bowling options.

Wairoa's mayor Craig Little has made contact, saying the town's been hit by the most catastrophic weather event in living memory. 

He says there's been severe river flooding after the water rose at an unprecedented rate.

Craig Little says emergency assistance is desperately needed in Wairoa, with parts of the district devastated.

He says hundreds of people have been evacuated, and there are many more whom they have not been able to contact.

Meanwhile, further up the coast, many communities around Tairāwhiti are cut off - roads are covered in slips, bridges have been washed out, and communication networks are still down. 

Approximately 200 people remain in Civil Defence Welfare Centres in the region.

In Te Araroa near East Cape, hauora provider Manaaki Matakāoa has been helping care for locals.

Tina Ngata leads the team, and she spoke to Max Towle about what had been happening.

News from the business sector

Evacuations continue in Hawke's Bay.

Six army trucks have arrived at the Hastings Sports Centres full of rescued people.

RNZ's reporter on the ground Lauren Crimp told Max Towle there were about 90 people on board the trucks that have come from another evacuation centre in the region.

The people are carrying their belongings, there are children, elderly people, washing baskets full of blankets and supplies.