East Coast

Media on the ground in cyclone-hit communities found road-blocks and local people reporting looting, theft and threats backed up with firearms. Meanwhile police and politicians insisted there was no…

Beef and Lamb New Zealand is reminding farmers to be alert as case numbers rise.

One farmer says his farm got "smoked" but it will be a chance to build back in a more environmentally sustainable way.

Gisborne people clearing silt from flooded homes and businesses are not impressed with the council's solution on how and where to dump it.

There is "no magic wand" to sort the forestry slash problem but a robust science-based inquiry may help, an industry boss says. Audio

A Gisborne farmer is counting the loss to his livestock after several of his cows died as they tried to escape floodwaters. Audio

The second day of Te Matatini brought another 15 groups, including Wairoa's kapa Mātangirau - who journeyed through mud, break-downs and broken roads.

Dr Ayesha Verrall describes access to health services for some cyclone-hit communities as a "an incredibly challenging situation" but says provisions are being made. Audio

Gisborne industries could be waiting around two weeks before they can begin operating again as the desperate state of the city's water situation was hammered home at a meeting.

Some cyclone-ravaged parts of the country are having to rely heavily on air travel due to damaged roads. Audio

The massive storm damaged scores of homes, motels are full in the city and more than 560 people are on a waiting list for social housing.

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Susana Lei'ataua about coverage of Cyclone Gabrielle's destruction - and the backlash against talk radio hosts who played the disaster down early on. Also…

Water is a sought after resource in Gisborne where restrictions mean many on town supply are going without showers, and turning the washing machine on is a distant memory.

Business owners in the cyclone-hit city are desperate to keep their doors open during the water crisis and are resorting to filling buckets and drums to do so.

East Coast volunteers and authorities are scrambling to get much-needed supplies into the right hands as about 100 communities in the area remain cut off.

Donations and messages of goodwill have been flooding in from around the country for devastated Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and Auckland communities.

Overstayers in cyclone-hit regions should be granted an amnesty, a Tongan community leader says. Audio