Cyclone Gabrielle: Second firefighter dies; death rises to seven; family confirms two-year-old girl passed away

Cyclone Gabrielle's death toll has risen to seven after a second Muriwai volunteer firefighter died and a man's body was found in Waiohiki in Hawke’s Bay yesterday.

The second firefighter, Craig Stevens, was taken to hospital in critical condition late on Monday night but passed away from his injuries yesterday.

His colleague, Dave van Zwanenberg, was also killed.

The Herald understands the two volunteer firefighters were trying to dig a trench behind a Muriwai home on Monday night to divert water after being called to the property due to flooding.

As the pair worked, a giant slab of the hillside above them gave way - inundating the property with a mountain of sodden mud and debris.

Cyclone Gabrielle's seventh victim was a man in his 70s, who was found in Waiohiki yesterday.

Meanwhile, a family has confirmed their two-year-old daughter was among the victims after she was swept away in the flooding in Eskdale.

The toddler's pregnant mother posted on Facebook that her youngest daughter - Ivy - died in flash flooding that "completely destroyed" their family home.

Previously authorities confirmed the death of one person in Gisborne and three people in Hawke’s Bay - the toddler in Eskdale, a woman in northern Hawke’s Bay and a person in Bay View - and one volunteer firefighter, in Muriwai, Auckland.

The Prime Minister is warning that number will rise as search and rescue teams finally reach destroyed and isolated storm-struck zones.

But as tales of tragedy emerge, so, too, are remarkable survival stories - there have been at least 450 rescues already, says Chris Hipkins.

While the number of uncontactable people will reduce dramatically, Hipkins said there were still 3,544 people who had been listed as uncontactable by police.

As of yesterday, 9,000 people were estimated as being displaced in Hawke’s Bay while an estimated 3,718 were displaced and evacuated in Northland and Auckland, Hipkins said.

Thousands of homes – most in the Napier area – remain without power, with Transpower warning power could be out for "days or weeks."