That’s where we’ll wrap our live coverage of Cyclone Vaianu.
Thank you for following along, and to everyone who shared photos, videos and updates with us throughout the day.
Conditions are easing in many areas, but hazards remain. Authorities continue to urge people to take care, avoid unnecessary travel, and stay away from floodwater, rivers and the coast.
Keep checking official sources for the latest updates overnight and into tomorrow.
Stay safe.
Pō mārie.
New Zealand Herald visual journalists deployed around the North Island to cover Cyclone Vaianu as it made landfall. Click here to see their images.
Heavy rain in Wellington this evening has forced another untreated wastewater discharge near shore on the city’s south coast.
Since the failure at the Moa Point sewage plant in February, millions of litres of screened but untreated sewage have been discharged each day through a long outfall pipe into Cook Strait.
In bad weather, Wellington Water also uses a shorter 5m outfall into Tarakena Bay.
The agency says water in the area will be cloudy or murky and may smell.
People are being urged to stay out of the bay and avoid gathering kaimoana from the south coast area from Ōwhiro Bay to Breaker Bay.
MetService says strong winds are still expected in Hawke’s Bay and the Tararua District tonight, with gusts of up to 120km/h forecast.
Orange strong wind warnings remain in place until 5am in Hawke’s Bay and 7am in Tararua.
MetService warns damage to trees, power lines and unsecured structures is still possible, and drivers should take extra care.
MetService says Cyclone Vaianu is moving southeast away from the North Island.
The system is now over waters southeast of Hawke’s Bay and is expected to pass west of the Chatham Islands on Monday morning.
All heavy rain warnings have been lifted.
Most strong wind watches have also been lifted, with a few still in place:
A Te Aroha resident says she woke to find her driveway flooded after a nearby river burst its banks.
“We noticed the river had burst the bank when we woke up at 7am,” she said, adding it had been “rising rapidly”.
“Our stream comes from Te Aroha mountain, through the golf course to us, and carries on through other farms.
“Since the water has come into our driveway, it has run down to the main state highway stormwater drains.”
“It was pumping all day and getting closer to the house.”
She said she built a temporary barrier using tyres and heavy objects to slow the flow.
Conditions have since eased, and she thanked Kaimai Valley Services for helping restore her water supply.
But she said a significant clean-up lies ahead.
“We will need to clean up all the debris and fill in the driveway with more stones because the water has left deep potholes.”