Tairāwhiti

Gisborne police have launched a crack down on 'anti-social' drivers, who they say are damaging roads and making crank 111 calls to divert police.

Three people have been charged after painting over a rainbow pedestrian crossing in Gisborne, and police say they are pursuing it as a hate crime.

More than $6 million has been set aside to clean up four vulnerable dumps.

Masterton was the hottest in the land but scorching temperatures were felt throughout the country on Sunday with most of the country in the high 20s.

Rain warnings are in place in Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay, with minor flooding already reported and Civil Defence asking people to check on neighbours and whānau.

Urgent repairs to Gisborne's wastewater outfall pipe will close a section of Midway Beach for at least five days.

People with homes damaged by the summer storms face yet another obstacle as they learn their trust-owned properties disqualify them from accessing support. Audio

Flood-weary Gisborne and the Eastern Bay of Plenty are next in line for heavy rain - after the lower South Island was battered last week.

Cold and wet weather for much of the country has prompted weekend warnings, and calls for drivers to take care.

Orange heavy rain warnings have been issued for already sodden Northland, Bay of Plenty and parts of the East Coast, and people are being warned to be prepared.

Immediate action is needed to address unsustainable forestry practices that have put an iwi's lands and waterways at risk, they say.

New Zealand has had decades of warnings about the effects of deforestation of hillsides, draining of wetlands and building behind stopbanks, a freshwater expert says.

The devastated stretch of SH2 between Napier and Wairoa has reopened, and reporter Kate Green drove the highway to get an early glimpse of how it lies now.

Part of Tairāwhiti's main coastal highway will close tonight, as Easter travellers flood the roads and heavy rains are forecast, with no date for its reopening.

Exhaustion, frustration and an air of sadness could be felt at a Tolaga Bay meeting, as people shared emotional accounts of the impact of slash and recent cyclones.

More than a month after Cyclone Gabrielle hit, Gisborne locals are fed up with water restrictions as the council struggles to fix multiple breaks in the city's main pipeline.

Tensions have run high in Tokomaru Bay over the district council's handling of convoys which have proven a life-line to residents needing to access Gisborne.

It is not too early to talk about retreating rather than rebuilding after Cyclone Gabrielle, says an engineer who helped move an entire Australian town after floods. Audio

Communities isolated by Cyclone Gabrielle are making the best of things as Civil Defence tries to keep essential supplies flowing.