Much of the North Island is under an emergency declaration, with a national state of emergency declared for just the third time in the country's history.
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At least 2500 people have been displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle this week, according to the latest estimates, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said on Tuesday afternoon.
Around 1000 of those are in the Far North and another 1000 in Hawke's Bay. The rest are mostly from Auckland, with some also in Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
But little is known about the situation in the east, with communications minimal and access hampered due to continued high winds and rain.
Wairoa is of particular concern, with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) "working very hard" to find out what is happening in the northern Hawke's Bay region.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, speaking to media with McAnulty, said the Telecommunications Emergency Forum "has been activated and is working closely with NEMA and local Civil Defence organisations".
"The first priority... remains the restoration of regional cellphone signals. High winds and ongoing poor weather is hampering progress in that area."
There has also been a fibre cut affecting TaupÅ, Hastings and Napier and other areas.
Hipkins called Cyclone Gabrielle the most significant weather event in New Zealand so far this century.
"The severity and the breadth of damage we are seeing has not been seen in a generation."
"In the last 24 hours or so, Fire and Emergency New Zealand have 1842 incidents related to Cyclone Gabrielle in their system… Two-hundred defence force personnel have so far been deployed and there are more on standby."
Transpower had announced a national grid emergency, following the loss of power to the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne, with potential for extended periods of outages, Hipkins said.
"This is a very significant event for the electricity network and the companies have not seen this level of damage since Cyclone Bola…
"The situation is changing rapidly and the lines companies are expecting more customers to be affected. They are working to restore power as quickly as possible... but restoration in some parts may have to wait until weather conditions improve."
Many supermarkets in Northland have been affected and closed. People were asked to only buy what they needed, Hipkins said, urging people to avoid non-essential travel. If it was unavoidable, people should let friends and family know where they were going, he added.
"A high number of roads have been affected by surface flooding and by slips."
The latest available information is on the Waka Kotahi website, which remained the best source of information for anyone having to travel, Hipkins said.
"On behalf of all New Zealanders I want to extend all of our gratitude to our emergency responders. They are putting in the hard yards and their lives are on the line in the service of their communities.
"To the families of the volunteer firefighters who responded to events in Muriwai last night and to the wider Fire and Emergency New Zealand family, our thoughts and hopes are with all of you."
"To the men and women of the Defence Force, the linemen and women, the communication companies, the supermarkets, the transport companies getting goods to where they are needed, the roading crews that are making that all possible, thank you to you also."
The good news is the weather is expected to ease overnight, Hipkins said. But that did not mean the danger would ease as quickly. ■