KEY POINTS

• Cyclone Cook will be south of the country by midnight, MetService says
• Surface flooding in Christchurch receding
• Local emergency remains in Whakatane District to deal with power cuts and damage from Cyclone Debbie
• Gusts exceeding 200km/h were registered by MetService on White Island
• Heaviest rain near Gisborne, where more than 200mm fell in 12 hours
• Significant damage to power infrastructure supplying Whakatane, Kawerau and Opotiki districts
• More than 3000 residents in Hawke's Bay and 350 homes in Gisborne Tairawhiti region without power
• Two people hospitalised in Hawke's Bay after a tree hit their car
• Civil Defence asking people to not go sight seeing
• The state of emergencies in the Bay of Plenty and Thames-Coromandel Districts are now over

UPDATED 7.57pm

Many Whakatane residents are delighted to be returning home, after bracing for Cyclone Cook in evacuation centres overnight.

The district got off lightly, with just downed trees, slips and power outages.

A state of emergency is still in the place for the district as attention turns to cleaning up flood-devastated Edgecumbe.

Local MP and Minister for Social Development Anne Tolley says people are relieved to be getting on with their lives.

"Some of them of course have got a bit of water damage and might not be able to stay overnight, but at least they can get into their homes, they can start doing things like lifting up the carpet."

Whakatane District Council said about 4.30pm today that all coastal evacuation areas from Matata to Ohope were reopened this morning, and residents from 216 properties in the southwestern area of Edgecumbe were able to go home this afternoon, most to stay.

Cyclone Cook 12pm-3:30pm ready to say goodbye to NZ pic.twitter.com/eJVmLbewqP

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 14, 2017

Updates on the reopening of the remaining cordoned areas - categorised as Zone 4 - will be provided this evening.

Power outages are still placing pressure on water and wastewater systems throughout the district and all residents, including those in areas with restored power, are asked to conserve water and avoid flushing their toilets as much as possible until advised otherwise.

District-wide notices to conserve water and minimise use of wastewater facilities are likely to be in place for several more days.

Boil water notices also remain in place throughout the district. 

The notice applies to residents of Taneatua, Te Mahe, Ruatoki and the Rangitaiki Plains - including Te Teko/Mapou, Edgecumbe, Awakeri, Braemar, Onepu, Otakiri and Thornton.

"Residents should bring water to a rapid boil for at least one minute to make it safe to drink," said the spokesperson.

"A tanker of potable drinking water is on its way to Taneatua for residents to fill their own bottles from.

"It will be stationed at Jack Knowles Park in Taneatua by 5.30pm this evening."

Civil Defence director Sarah Stuart-Black said while the worst of the weather had passed for most regions, there was still a danger from rivers in places such as Edgecumbe as the water made its way through the catchments.

“It is possible that delayed flooding will occur as higher than usual water volumes flow through the catchments and through the river systems. Caution around waterways through the next few days is recommended.”

Stuart-Black said aerial assessments were undertaken this morning to check the extent of damage across the Bay of Plenty.

She urged people to try to delay any non-essential travel  because of the need to do repairs on roads and to be careful of flooding and slips over Easter.

Fire and Police were dealing with calls to flooding, downed trees and power lines and several local roads were closed as was State Highway One in Seddon. There were also widespread  power outages in Whakatane, Edgecumbe and Ohope, as well as rural Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. Water and wastewater systems were also damaged in some areas.

• Those travelling should allow extra time, keep up to date with road and weather information and be prepared for “challenging” driving conditions such as debris and possible detours. “Please, don’t take any chances.”
• People evacuated should not return to their homes until cleared by local officials.
• Those going into damaged buildings should be careful and check for structural damage such as to staircases, walls and windows.
• Look for and report any broken gas or power lines.
• Further flooding was possible and people should not walk or drive through flood waters
• Take care around waterways and be ready to act – if water is rising, don’t wait for an official warning to move.
• The Defence Force would help where required, but extra personnel and aircraft on standby were likely to be stood down later today if not needed.

She said it would take “weeks and months” for the areas most badly affected by Cyclone Debbie and now Cyclone Cook – such as Edgecumbe and parts of Whakatane - to recover. “Our support will continue to those.”

Although Cyclone Cook had not had the impact feared on areas such as Auckland and Bay of Plenty, she said it was still a dangerous event and important to take precautions.

“Because people took from those precautionary messages, the impact from the storm is less likely to have been what it could have been. So we are really pleased. We should never under estimate the potential severity of events like this.”

Metservice's Chris Noble said Cyclone Cook tracked slightly further east than earlier expected, which meant eastern Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay were worst affected. Auckland and Wellington escaped the worst of it. “Had the system tracked a little bit further west I think it would have been a very different story for the likes of central and western parts of the North Island, including Auckland and Wellington.”

This morning it was off the Canterbury coast and heading toward Otago before it moved to the South. All severe weather warnings had been lifted but a number of severe weather watches were in place and there were strong winds off the Banks Peninsula and heading to eastern Otago.

Watches were in place for heavy rain in eastern Otago, Buller and Westland through to tomorrow.

Metservice was keeping a close eye on East Otago.

COROMANDEL

Cyclone Cook has brought down trees, caused slips, and created some localised flooding.

The system has now moved on, but Thames Valley Civil Defence said there hasn't been time to assess the damage to roads.

Controller Garry Towler said authorities will be out at daybreak to make sure things are safe.

He said people should avoid travel to the Peninsula until authorities have assessed the situation.

State Highway 25 between Thames and Coromandel township is likely to be closed all weekend.