As more footage of damage from Cyclone Gabrielle emerges from the country's hardest-hit areas, one video of flooding in Hawke's Bay has gone viral overseas.
Posted on UK-based publication The Guardian, a video from a series of Facebook Lives posted by Lie Tu’imoala based in Puketapu (outside of Napier) shows the speed flood waters overtook a submerged vehicle in the space of 43 minutes.
Lie's first Facebook Live starts when flood waters were already over the wheel of their workshop truck as workers stood around, trying to find high ground over the rising flood.
After 20 minutes elapsed, flood waters had reached the bottom edge of the truck windows, and the Tongan workers were forced to seek refuge outside.
By the time 40 minutes had elapsed, the workers who sought refuge on top of the truck saw it completely submerged under the flood waters and float away, alongside their outdoor furniture.
The workers managed to put together a makeshift shelter using mattresses and pellets on top of their rooftop, where they waited for rescue.
Hawke's Bay still remains in a state of emergency, with a number of bridges cutting off access between Napier and Hastings, and power still being restored to thousands of homes in the region.
If families outside of Hawke's Bay are concerned for someone's safety or need to let us know they are okay, they can let NZ Police know via their inquiry forms:
