Broadcaster Paul Holmes says he is missing work but hopes to be discharged from Hawke's Bay Hospital soon.

A spokesperson for the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter said the 52-year-old forestry worker was injured in a tree-felling accident near Putere.

Police in Napier are looking for a male who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in a green belt area of the city.

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded 20 km north-east of Waipukurau this morning at a depth of 34km.

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck near Taupo this afternoon and was felt along the East Coast of the North Island.

A businessman has been discharged without conviction for threatening to kill his partner with a knife after an argument broke out over his mother washing his underwear.

Aftershocks are unlikely after a 5.2 magnitude earthquake rocked much of the central and lower North Island today.

About 20 Hawkes Bay residents fought an out of control fire with spades and chilly bins of water near Mahia Beach yesterday.

Brazen thieves who pounced while a family were sleeping made off with priceless camera footage of a young Hawkes Bay woman's last years of life.

Health warnings over Lake Tutira have been extended following the detection of higher levels of cyanobacteria by the Hawke's Bay District Health Board.