Midday Report

Cyclone Gabrielle has arrived, yet the worst wild weather is still to come.

It reached Northland first - thousands of people have lost power and many roads are flooded and unusable.

People located close to the rivers in the Whangārei CBD and Town Basin area are being urged to seek shelter before this afternoon's high tide.

Māni Dunlop heard the latest from the chair of the Northland emergency management group, and Kōwhai - Deputy Mayor of Te Kaunihera o Tai Tokerau ki te Raki - Far North District Council, Kelly Stratford

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Cyclone Gabrielle is just north of Coromandel.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris spoke to Māni Dunlop about the forecast and the extreme observations so far today.

Coromandel is being hit with damaging winds and rain from Cyclone Gabrielle. 

A state of emergency is still in force. 

RNZ reporter Andrew McRae was at Buffalo Beach, Whitianga and spoke to Māni Dunlop.

Northland was the first place to get hit by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

People located close to the rivers in the Whangārei CBD and Town Basin area are being urged to seek shelter before this afternoon's high tide around 2pm.

RNZ reporter Soumya Bhamidipati was by the evacuation centre in Whangārei, at McKay Stadium and spoke to Māni Dunlop.

Cyclone Gabrielle is here.

Strong winds and heavy rain are causing damage throughout the upper North Island and the weather is still getting worse.

Nearly 60,000 customers have lost power and lines companies are warning it could take days to restore the power in some areas.

Large waves on top of storm surges, could be destructive on the east coasts.

High tide is around 1.30pm-2pm for the upper North Island.

There are warnings not to shelter or park under large trees - many have fallen in the storm already.

And there is widespread travel disruption - to flights, trains, ships, ferries, and to roads.

Local states of emergency have been declared for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Gisborne, and Opotiki.

Cyclone Gabrielle is heading our way and could make a miserable couple of weeks even worse, should it bring the intense rain and strong winds that are forecast.

It'll be a nervous wait for North Islanders - the cyclone is due to hit Northland first on Sunday - then move south through Auckland and the rest of the North Island.

States of emergency in Thames-Coromandel and in Auckland have been extended; Air New Zealand is urging people not to fly unless it's urgent. 

Emergency Management minister Kieran McAnulty spoke to Max Towle.

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