Category: New

Explore the latest developments concerning Floods, power outages.

Floods, power outages and hundreds evacuated as Cyclone Vaianu lashes New Zealand’s North Island

Cyclone crossed coast near Maketu peninsula, packing destructive winds exceeding 130km/h (80 mph), heavy rain and large swells

Cyclone Vaianu made landfall in New Zealand’s North Island on Sunday, triggering floods, power outages and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

The cyclone crossed the coast near the Maketu peninsula, packing destructive winds exceeding 130km/h (80 mph), heavy rain and large swells, national weather provider MetService said, describing Vaianu as a “life-threatening” system.

Authorities have placed several regions under emergency declarations and issued “red” level wind warnings, which are reserved for only the most extreme weather events.

The cyclone was tracking towards the fringes of the North Island, sparing Auckland, the country’s most populous city, from the worst conditions, said emergency management minister Mark Mitchell. But stronger winds and swells were still expected after its afternoon landfall.

Christopher Luxon hits back at Wairoa mayor Craig Little over woke comment

Christopher Luxon says he's happy to be labelled woke if it means New Zealanders are not losing their lives in the recent cyclone.

The Prime Minister held a briefing with reporters in Auckland on Monday afternoon, after Cyclone Vaianu's course shifted away from Hawke's Bay late on Sunday.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council, Napier, Hastings, and Central Hawke's Bay councils declared local states of emergency for coastal areas before midday on Saturday, but Wairoa mayor Craig Little refused – saying "we're becoming woke as a country when it comes to states of emergency".

"No, they're not. I love Craig, I've spent a lot of time with him given he's had some major weather events in Wairoa over the last few years, and so I'll happily wear a woke label this time if it means we didn't lose anyone's lives," he said.

ITM Taupō Super 440: Sunday cancellation

Supercars has made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel Sunday’s event day at the ITM Taupō Super 440, following the deterioration of weather conditions and the expected landfall of Cyclone Vaianu over the central North Island. Please see FAQs below:

Supercars thanks all fans, teams, officials, our title sponsor ITM, the team at Taupō International Motorsport Park for their flexibility and understanding.

We look forward to delivering a spectacular event in Taupō next year.

For further updates, please visit Supercars.com or follow @supercarschampionship on social channels.

For more detailed information, explore updates concerning Floods, power outages.

For more news…