Bay of Plenty flood levels are dropping, but 15 people have been evacuated from their Whakatane homes.

The eastern Bay of Plenty town of Opotiki remains isolated this morning.

Central Punjab, Pakistan's fertile agricultural belt, is now besieged by unprecedented floods.

It's been a tough year for Mt Hutt skifield, with three deaths, an avalanche and now 1200 skiers trapped overnight in bad weather.

Many of the skiers enjoyed their night on Mt Hutt, including a quiz, hot food, and "spooning" - while at least two now have a coffee date.

About 1200 skiers - including several hundred schoolchildren - remain trapped on Mt Hutt this morning after gales of over 200km/h closed the only road off the mountain.

Around 1200 mountaingoers are still trapped at Mt Hutt skifield, with conditions still too dangerous to leave.

A skier caught in an avalanche on Mt Hutt has described how he fought to stay on top of the snow.

A NZ man last night told of fleeing his Port Vila office building when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu, sending frightened residents and tourists rushing for high ground.

Rescuers dug through mud and wreckage searching for 1,300 people still missing. Photos / AP

An avalanche closed Mt Hutt today but the mountain has now reopened and though some skiers were partially buried, no one was hurt.

Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has poured cold water on Wyclef Jean's bid for the Haitian presidency.

Efforts to contact a New Zealander known to be in India's remote Himalayan region of Ladakh hit by flash floods are continuing today.

Over 30 million people have been hit by Pakistan's worst ever floods, with at least 1600 lives lost.

Three-quarters of China's provinces have been hit by floods and more than 1000 people have died or been lost in the severe flooding so far this year.