The clip of a rescue of a horse called Chance who was stuck in a culvert in Paparoa (in Southern Kaipara District) has been watched online by millions of people. Chance's owner Simone Frewin chats to Jesse.

And authorities say those strong winds are adding an extra half metre on top of very large swells. The highest wave recorded by MetService in Wellington Harbour today has reached 11 metres. A mandatory evacuation order was in place from 9am this morning for waterfront properties in Owhiro Bay, Island Bay, Houghton Bay and Breaker Bay. For the latest Jesse is joined by RNZ field reporter Charlotte Cook.

The latest RNZ Pacific news.

Welcome to Midday Report essentials In today's episode: Monster waves hit Wellington's south coast - 350 homes evacuated, flights and ferries cancelled, and a plane has blown over at Welly airport. Field Correspondent Charlotte Cook joined us. The government is barrelling ahead with plans to build an LNG terminal but has gassed moves to get consumers to pay for it with a levy - Labour is crying foul. so what are they propsoing we do in a dry year? We spoke to Megan Woods. Finally, a last call for telephone booths? A stand off with the Auckland Council threatens Spark's moves to modernise the trusty telephone booth. The telco joined me to put forward its case.

An update on the latest news and results from RNZ's sports team.

Spark wants to modernise the 2000 or so phone booths across New Zealand by offering free calling, Wi-Fi, and phone charging. But a stand off with Auckland Council over ad revenue threatens that plan for the whole country. Spark chief brand and corporate affairs officer Leela Ashford spoke to Guyon Espiner.

The latest news from the United States with correspondent Aaron Pellish in Washington DC.

An update on the latest news from RNZ's rural team.

The latest news from RNZ's business team.

The government has backed down on paying for its LNG import terminal through a levy, and is imposing steeper fines on power companies to shore up energy supply. The government has also agreed to proceed with a terminal, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is beginning consultation on new regulations for power companies' dry year supply backups. Labour energy spokeswoman Megan Woods spoke to Guyon Espiner following the government's announcement.