The Latest Breaking News from Chris Hipkins

Grave fears held for about 10 people while almost 5,000 listed as out of contact as military helps deliver aid to affected communities

Vulnerable New Zealand communities are taught to prepare for natural disasters, but national messaging says you may need to survive three days without assistance. The situation for cut-off communities may now be urgent.

New Zealand is dealing with the devastating impacts of ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle, the country's "most destructive weather event in decades", and now an earthquake has added to the emergency facing residents in different parts of the country.

PM Chris Hipkins calls storm ‘the most significant weather event New Zealand has seen this century’

The New Zealand government has declared a state of national emergency for only the third time in history

Emergency services in New Zealand were reportedly forced to call off the search for volunteer firefighter Dave van Zwananberg, as the land continued to shift while Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland's west coast

As Gabrielle continues to track south-east leaving damage in its wake, New Zealand authorities say the wild weather is likely to peak today bringing more settled conditions on Wednesday as the storm pushes out to sea.

The New Zealand government has declared a state of emergency across the country’s North Island, which has been battered by Cyclone Gabrielle

Officials are battling to restore communications to cut-off towns and get a better sense of Cyclone Gabrielle's damage, with the weather set to improve overnight.