A 13-year-old East Coast boy has become one of New Zealand's youngest killers after admitting a charge of manslaughter today.

Using tear gas, the Armed Offenders Squad today arrested an alleged aggravated robber who has been on the run since June.

Heavy rain is lashing the North Island's East Coast, leaving dozens of homes without power and closing rural schools and roads.

Schools have closed, houses are without power and homes have been evacuated as rain continues to lash the Gisborne region.

The icy southerly sweeping up the North Island has brought snow to the hills around Waikato and the Bay of Plenty and in some paddocks.

NIWA's latest seasonal outlook predicts temperatures in all regions are likely to be above average from October to December.

Official documents show the Government did not consider the environment when awarding an East Cape off shore oil exploration permit.

Jessica and Damon Ward today appealed for people to take five minutes to check all around their properties in case their "curious little boy" had got lost and taken shelter.

A police dive squad is again scouring the Waimata River as the search for missing four-year-old Gisborne boy Lucas Ward enters its third day.

The frantic mother of a Gisborne preschooler was last night clinging to the hope her boy is alive, more than 40 hours after he vanished.