Limited power is back in parts of Gisborne after the Tairawhiti region was cut off from the rest of the country by ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle. Communications with the region are still spotty, and it could take weeks to get power and communications back up and running. Gisborne residents are being asked to urgently conserve water after a break in the city's main supply, somewhere between the dams and the treatment plant. Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz joins Kathryn by satellite phone.

Roads around the upper North Island have been badly damaged - and in some cases have left communities completely isolated. To give a sense of the scale of the destruction and how long it might take to repair, Kathryn is joined by Waka Kotahi National Emergency Response Team spokesperson Mark Owen.

RNZ reporter Lauren Crimp has been at an evacuation centre in Hastings, where residents are affected by flooding and power outages.

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise is in Napier, at the city's Emergency Operation Centre

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise joins Kathryn for an update on the situation in the Napier area, warning that high tide may cause issues and that further evacuations might be needed.

Communities up and down the East Coast remain cut off this morning with no way of knowing how they're faring in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Communication is down, State Highway 35 - the main roading lifeline in the region is badly damaged, and there has been widespread flooding - with rivers once again choked with forestry slash. Kiritapu Allan is East Coast MP as well as Minister for Regional Development and Associate Transport Minister.

Watercare has urged customers in Muriwai, Helensville and Wellsford to reduce their water use. It says local water treatment plants have been affected by power and communications outages - and the road issues mean access to the plants are difficult. Local water storage reservoirs are starting to run now -and there's a risk they'll run out of water. Kathryn is joined by Nigel Toms, Watercare's incident controller.

Kaipara Kumara Anthony Blundell runs his business at Ruawai near Dargaville, where the power is out and the land is rain-soaked. He says it's been a tough 24 hours.

Len Salt joins Kathryn for an update on how Cyclone Gabrielle has added to existing woes in the region after multiple flooding and slip events this summer.

The cyclone has devastated the huge Panpac forestry operation just to the north of Napier - at Whirinaki. The whole site is under two metres of water - after the Esk River behind the plant, breached its banks. Panpac managing director Tony Clifford joins Kathryn.