Cyclone Gabrielle: Four people confirmed dead, body of volunteer firefighter found

Four people have been confirmed dead including a young child, following Cyclone Gabrielle’s path of destruction.

Another 1,442 people are still uncontactable, according to police, who say they have "grave fears" for some of them.

Homes have been destroyed, towns entirely cut off and hundreds of thousands of residents are still without power across many regions.

Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and Muriwai have been among the regions most severely hit.

Authorities have confirmed the death of a woman in a small farming settlement in northern Hawke’s Bay, after earlier efforts to rescue her.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence said authorities on the ground reported the fatality in Pūtōrino after a bank collapsed onto the victim's home early yesterday morning.

Last night, Police announced that a body had been found washed up at Bay View Beach, north of Napier. The discovery was reported at about 7.45pm.

Police also said the body of a young person was located in Eskdale shortly before 2pm today.

The child is believed to have been caught in rising water yesterday.

Meanwhile, rescuers in Muriwai have found the body of missing volunteer firefighter Dave van Zwanenberg, who was swept up in a landslide as he attended to a flooded home on Monday.

Fire and Emergency chief executive Kerry Gregory confirmed the body was found by Urban Search and Rescue and police this morning.

One of his colleagues was pulled from the collapsed house and is in critical condition in hospital.

The tales of tragedy come as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins labelled Cyclone Gabrielle the "most severe weather event this century."

About 225,000 people have lost power, from Northland and Auckland, through to Coromandel, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

About 2500 families have been displaced from their homes, including at least 1,000 in Hawke’s Bay and 1,000 in the Far North.

Telecommunications, including phone lines and internet services, have been stretched, as police stood up a major operation to cope with reports people could not be reached in cyclone-stricken regions.

Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to move away from the country early this morning, but the impacts will be felt for much longer with more rain forecast this week before hopefully fine weather this weekend.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.