New research shows anxiety is spiking during downpours, as more weather disasters threaten people's property and safety.

A new survey shows 73 percent of respondents in the Hawke’s Bay region feel anxious about the weather and 57 percent of respondents nationwide are concerned.

Professor Holly Thorpe from the University of Waikato says people in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, who were hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, reported impacts on their mental health as a result of adverse weather conditions.

"The rain anxiety, the stress, the worry, the new kinds of experiences of vulnerability, were affecting people across the community."

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