Army trucks heading east on State Highway 5 in Esk River Valley in Hawke's Bay last month. Photo: RNZ / Phil Pennington
The state of national emergency for Te Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay regions will end tomorrow.
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty gave notice of a national transition period for both regions, which will come into effect as soon as the state of national emergency ends.
The state of emergency will end four weeks after being declared. The decision was taken because Civil Defence in both regions said they were ready to move from the response phase into recovery, McAnulty said.
A national transition period now covers the Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Te Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay Regions and the Tararua, Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa Districts.
"While significant progress has been made in restoring power and telecommunications, and ensuring everyone reported as uncontactable is accounted for, there are still major and ongoing impacts in these regions," McAnulty said.
"We are committed to a locally led recovery, supported by central government. The national transition period will ensure that national-level support and resources are coordinated."
Kieran McAnulty gives an update the day after the cyclone devastated Tai Rāwhiti, Hawke's Bay last month. Photo: RNZ
The move into the national transition period meant Civil Defence teams still had the powers they may need during the recovery, such as clearing roads and disposing of dangerous materials.
McAnulty said the move was a milestone and he praised "the tireless mahi" of those involved, including volunteers, emergency services, Civil Defence and councils, iwi and response personnel.
Grid emergency also ends
The flooded Redclyffe substation on 16 February. Photo: Transpower
The Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti electricity networks are no longer in a state of emergency, after the cyclone-flooded Redclyffe substation was partially fixed over the weekend.
Transpower said it was able to put in an extra 220 kilovolt line and re-liven some supply through Redclyffe, but was still deciding whether to fully restore or move the substation.
The grid emergency has been called off by the independent system operator, which runs the wholesale electricity market and operates the power system.
The operator said there was a higher risk of power cuts, and another emergency could be called if more faults were found.