Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the Coromandel Peninsula and effectively cut the region off from the country.

14 arterial roads in the district are flooded or blocked by slips, and a third of the region is out of power.

Thames-Coromandel deputy mayor Terry Walker says Monday night was a destructive one for the Coromandel, with gale-force winds and 450 millilitres of rain landing in the region.

Terry Walker says that the Thames-Coromandel area is resilient when it comes to extreme weather, but Cyclone Gabrielle has been especially tough on people.

LISTEN ABOVE

• 'We're on one knee now': Coromandel swamped by surging seas, road network 'totally compromised'
• Live: 'Just the beginning' - Gabrielle's eye on NZ: Heavy winds, monster waves; thousands without power
• Thames Coromandel District Council CEO describes Gabrielle's impact as 'carnage'
• Live: Hawke's Bay town goes dark, communication 'of concern'; Gabrielle 'worst storm this century'- PM says 225k without power; 2500 families displaced