Senior firefighter Terry Gyde tunnelled his way into the twisted steel and concrete of two collapsed buildings in the aftermath of the February 22, 2011 earthquake.

A tropical storm was moving out into the Sea of Japan last night after lashing the country with rain and winds, leaving one person dead and more than 50 injured.

Tropical Storm Iselle brought big surf, strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii last night, but the severe weather did not disrupt Air New Zealand flights.

Lindsay Jones has no desire to knock down his 129-year-old church at the top of Queen St. But as things stand, the senior pastor and his congregation can't afford to keep it open either.

A billion-dollar earthquake upgrade affecting about one in 10 commercial and multi-storey apartment buildings is set for a major overhaul.

As Hurricane Iselle approached Hawaii last night, Kiwi holidaymakers were bracing themselves for a potential stranding on the tropical islands.

The civil engineer behind Christchurch's CTV building is no longer under investigation - after an inquiry was dropped upon legal advice.

The spring rainy season had already brought death and destruction to northern Afghanistan.

Another strong aftershock has rattled Solomon Islands early this morning, following yesterday's 7.6 quake that's compounded flood misery in the country.

More than 50,000 people have been affected by the flash floods that have devastated the capital and a number of provinces of the Solomon Islands.

The condition of about 12,000 people crammed into Solomon Islands evacuation centres is of grave concern, says a Unicef sanitation specialist.

Auckland is a long way from high earthquake activity and can expect a major shake every 10,000 to 20,000 years, says a new study.

New Zealander Rachel Lilburn has felt earthquakes in Chile before but said yesterday's big one was much stronger than any others.

NZ is unprepared for sea level rises that could turn 1-in-100 year flooding events into annual occurrences, a blockbuster report on climate change has revealed.

Firefighters, police officers, Urban Search and Rescue experts, and courageous passersby risked life and limb to drag several survivors from the CTV Building.

The world's leading meteorological authority suggests that many of last year's weather extremes are likely to have been heavily influenced by rising global temperatures.

Hopes are dwindling of finding any survivors among the 174 people missing after a mudslide buried part of a small Washington state town under 6m of sludge and debris.

People in coastal regions of Asia, particularly those living in cities, could face some of the worst effects of global warming, climate experts will warn this week.

Former cyclone Lusi proved to be more of a wind bag than a raging beast - to the delight of beach-bound thrillseekers.

In some areas, the number of people who have died from illnesses related to the quake and tsunami is higher than those who died directly from the disasters.

The ongoing impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes are disproportionately impacting children from low-income families, with health problems and family violence on the rise, a new report says.

PM John Key has today seen firsthand the damage wrought by the bad weather that has hammered Christchurch, telling flooded business owners to "hang in there".

'We're obviously going to review the sandbagging issue,' says Christchurch's mayor amid residents' complaints the council failed to handle yesterday's floods.

There were times when whistles should have been blown and loudly, but were not, writes Brian Rudman. Is it any wonder the police are taking their time?

Nick Walls knows the slow pace of recovery better than anyone.

February 22 is Bonnie Singh's mother's birthday. But for the past three years there has been no celebration.