He said of the four deaths that the pain of their families would be “unimaginable”.
“The grief of their loved ones will be unimaginable.”
Of the 1442 people police had listed as uncontactable, Hipkins said 1100 had also been reported as found, and it was likely there would be a crossover with the number police provided.
Hipkins said work getting supplies to those who needed it had been an “enormous effort”.
There are still seven waiting for evacuation, none are emergencies, Hipkins said.
Napier and Gisborne airports had re-opened today and a special assistance flight had been sent with emergency supplies and personnel.
Hipkins is likely to travel to the flood-hit areas himself in the next few days as authorities get more information on the scale of damage and what will be needed to rebuild.
160,000 still without power
Energy Minister Megan Woods said was a widespread impact on electricity - since yesterday 60,000 households had power restored but 160,000 are still without power.
“There are still high winds in some places with blocked roads making restoration unsafe at this point.”
Woods said a range of issues took down the local networks - such as flooding of substations and high winds bringing down poles.
Woods said there were still 60,000 in Hawke’s Bay without power, but recent access to Redcliffe substation could help that.
Woods said there were efforts to get crews up to Northland to restore electricity. Woods had asked retailers if they could help with engineers and technicians to get power restored.
“This is significant even with a level of damage to infrastructure that we have not seen since Cyclone Bola.”
She said it could be frustrating and upsetting for people, and did not know how long it would take.
On fuel, she said the issues were not of supply but of power being off at some stations and the ability to get to them on roads.
“Fuel is considered a lifeline good,” which means priority access through roads when they re-open.
Woods said 564 households in Auckland were accessing emergency accommodation, elsewhere it was not yet known how many would be long-term displaced.
She said it would be more than after the Christchurch earthquake: “and that was not insignificant.”
She said the number using emergency accommodation was the best measure of that. “We are not underestimating the challenge.” She said that in Christchurch temporary accommodation was built to house people while their houses were rebuilt.
Communications Minister Ginny Andersen on telecommunications - said the companies were working together to try to get things back up and runnings. Coromandel and north of Taupo had been restored.
In Northland, generators were going in to increase the reach of cellphone towers for those that had not been operating.
There were five main breaks in the fibre cable - two had been restored Coromandel and north of Taupō restored.
Today’s update follows another difficult day for those hardest hit by the floods across the North Island. It included the discovery of a body in the area where rescuers were searching for a missing firefighter in Muriwai after a landslide brought down houses.
At least 10,500 people are out of their homes across the North Island, including 9000 across Hawke’s Bay alone. About 3000 people are sheltering in Civil Defence centres.
People were struggling today to come to terms with the incredible loss of life, property, animals, roads and crops – from Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel, Hawke’s Bay, and Tairawhiti, including Gisborne.
More than 300 residents have been rescued from rooftops and waters since floods inundated the Hawkes Bay region, cutting off roads, bridges and isolating communities. In Hawke’s Bay, helicopters had about 20 more rescue jobs to do: work that was expected to finish today.
However, communications and power were still out or unstable for vast tracts of Hawke’s Bay, Coromandel and Northland. Wairoa mayor Craig Little has also issued a cry for help from the area, which has been cut off since the cyclone went through, wrecking the bridges and roads in.
Little said they were desperately in need of assistance, with hundreds evacuated from properties mainly surrounding the river catchment in the northern Hawkes Bay area.
“We have received very little help because we are so cut off and everywhere around us is in emergency mode.”
Nema has been working with Defence and Civil Defence to rescue people and to try to get supplies such as water, food and medical supplies where they are needed.
Earlier today, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said the Government would work out what further support it would provide once it had a clearer picture of the overall damage and the initial response phase was over.
He said planning was already underway for the recovery phase – including talks with Australian officials about what they could do to help.
A Hercules flew over the area today on a reconnaissance flight and the NZDF’s NH90 helicopters have been doing rescues.
