Heavy rain has left Gisborne virtually cut off, with surface flooding closing roads and forcing the evacuation of homes.

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.

Storms have dumped tonnes of water on to Queensland in the last three days.

A driver was trapped today after heavy winds blew a large tree branch on to his truck.

Another wintry blast is on its way and expected to hit NZ tomorrow.

The rain has eased in Nelson and Marlborough but bad weather looms over the lower North Island.

Waikato is preparing for floods as heavy rain threatens to push already-swollen rivers past their limits.

Stadium Southland organisers have adopted the slogan "Game on 2012" after having a multi-million dollar insurance claim for their collapsed roof accepted today.

Sunday saw one of the best starts to daylight saving that I've seen in years. Not only did both the North and South Island take the national high with 24 degrees in Napier and Kaikoura, but several other centres also climbed into the 20s in

A new front is set to cross the South Island bringing gale-force winds.

Howling winds up to 100kmh are hampering efforts to rescue 24 surviving whales on a beach in the Far North.

The recent severe weather may have played a part in the birth of a zebra at Auckland Zoo.

A large pod of pilot whales stranded on a Far North beach will hopefully be refloated tomorrow.

Surviving pilot whales from a stranded pod may have to be refloated at a more sheltered bay.

Gales and heavy rain pounding the North Island have shattered weather records, and winds last night hampered rescue efforts after a mass whale stranding at the northern tip of NZ.