Weather
Rain welcome, but no relief to dry conditions
Aucklanders are being warned a weekend of extremely wet weather hasn't brought the city any closer to seeing the end of what is a severe drought.
Drought-stricken farmers still struggling
The situation is expected to worsen for farmers in drought-hit areas over the next few months, with hopes of any decent grass growth before winter quickly diminishing.
Parts of Northland, Hawke's Bay… Audio
Heavy rain hits Auckland; SH6 near Westport reopens
Heavy rain, lightning and strong winds have whipped across many regions of the North Island this afternoon, but emergency services say the bad weather has caused few problems so far.
Residents begin clean up of homes damaged by 'freak' waves
Cordons remain in place on Wellington's south coast after huge waves damaged houses prompting evacuations yesterday. Audio
Owhiro Bay residents battered by 'freakish' swells during lockdown
A Wellington woman was swept into the sea and her husband was crushed against their house by his Landrover after huge waves battered the south coast yesterday.
Residents had to evacuate the area… Audio
Huge waves batter Wellington coast, flood homes
Huge waves have been hitting Wellington's south coast on Wednesday forcing people to leave their homes and injuring one person who got dragged out to sea.
A big southerly swell sent waves about six… Video, Audio
Huge waves hit Wellington's south coast, person swept out to sea rescued
Freak waves on Wellington's south coast have left a person in hospital and forced residents to evacuate their homes.
First snow of 2020 blankets parts of Southland
Temperatures plummeted in the lower south early this morning as snow fell on parts of the region. NIWA weather forecaster Chris Brandolino tells Jesse Mulligan about the early cold snap and what we… Audio
Winter is coming: Temperatures drop, snow to fall in parts of country
Much of the country is waking up to wintery weather for the first time this year, with parts of the South Island falling to negative temperatures overnight.
Wild weather for West Coast
Civil Defence is warning heavy rain, swells and strong winds are headed for the West Coast over the next 36 hours.
Cyclone Harold damage becoming clearer
News is only just starting to emerge of the devastation of Vanuatu's northern islands, which were hit by Category 5 Cyclone Harold on Monday.
Communications to the islands were knocked out during the… Audio
World Vision struggles to bring aid to cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu
Parts of Vanuatu have been devastated by Tropical Cyclone Harold, and there are now concerns as to whether aid will be able to reach the hardest-hit areas in a timely manner.
New Zealand-based aid… Audio
Cyclone Harold headed to Fiji
Vanuatu has been hit by one of the strongest recorded storms to ever make landfall on the tiny Pacific nation, forcing the government to suspend coronavirus social distancing measures for evacuees.
… Audio
Cyclon Harold: Scale of destruction revealed in Vanuatu
With Cyclone Harold slowly moving away from Vanuatu, reports are slowly starting to emerge of the scale of destruction there.
The Category 5 storm tore across the country's northern and central… Audio
Vanuatu already feeling force of Cyclone Harold
A category five cyclone - the largest possible - is set for a direct hit on Vantuatu's largest island, Santo, within the next hour, with hundreds already seeking shelter in evacuation centres.
… Video, Audio
Cyclone Harold headed to Vanuatu
A huge cyclone is heading straight for Vanuatu and is due to make landfall this morning.
Cyclone Harold could be one of the most serious cyclones of the season as other major storms have been mostly… Audio
NIWA meteorologist on Wairarapa rain
Wairarapa farmers are ecstatic after a bought of heavy rain hit the drought stricken region over the weekend. Local Federated Farmers president William Beetham labelled it a game changer.
The region… Audio
Wairarapa farmer labels weekend's rain a 'gamechanger'
A Wairarapa farmer says heavy rain that fell over the weekend will be a "gamechanger" for the drought-stricken region.
Wairarapa is classified as "extremely dry" and a large-scale adverse event has… Audio
Midday Sports News for 18 March 2020
New Zealand Rugby offices in Wellington have been hit by a possible case of the Covid-19 coronavirus with an employee in self-isolation and being tested. Audio
Sprinkling of rain not enough to end Northland drought
A tropical cyclone brought a sprinkling of much needed rain to parts of Northland, but not enough to relieve drought conditions there.
