Ex-tropical cyclone Gita caused massive slips closing State Highway 1 near Kaikoura. Video / NZTA
Cyclone Gita has been and gone but thousands of people are still without power, others cut off from supplies, or still cleaning up the trail of destruction left by the storm.
Two days have passed since the cyclone passed over the country which prompted a state of emergency to be declared in seven different districts following flooding, gale-force winds, power-cuts and road closures.
New Plymouth and Tasman districts remain in a state of emergency.
Repairs to roads and train tracks on Kaikoura's highway continue, Takaka in Marlborough is getting supplies by sea and thousands of Taranaki homes remain without power.
One of a number of slips blocking state highway 1 following Gita's destructive visit. Photo / NZTA
The highway North and South of Kaikoura remain closed following adverse weather conditions, as well as the train line between Blenheim and Christchurch.
KiwiRail is working alongside NZTA to reopen the track after 300,000 cubic metres of material was spread across 60 sites from Parnassus to Clarence.
SH1 Goosebay to Ferniehurst and SH1 from Blenheim to Kaikoura are closed.
"Our KiwiRail and NCTIR teams are already underway clearing and repairing the track, but this work will take some time, and we will not be in a position to run any trains between Blenheim and Christchurch next week," KiwiRail Main North Line Project Director Walter Rushbrook said.
A severley damaged bridge on state highway 79 near Geraldine courtesy of Gita. Photo / NZTA
"We will get the line open again as soon as we possibly can, and we are already working on getting the freight rolling again by extending operating hours at our Blenheim Freight Hub to support transport of freight through the South Island."
Further north in the South Island the small town of Takaka in the Tasman district is still cut off from the rest of the country.
Food supplies were delivered on Thursday following the closure of Takaka Hill road, State Highway 60, which left the community cut off.
The first of two barges arrived at 10am, restocking the shelves of the town's only supermarket.
In the North Island, Taranaki repairs were continuing to bring back power and restore water.
New Plymouth District Council staff were making progress on repairing the main water supply pipe that was broken on Tuesday by high winds from Gita.
Welding of pipe sections had been completed and staff were working through the night to get the job done by Friday.
Once the pipe was fixed it would then take about 24 hours to refill the water catchment.
The boil water notice would remain in place for at least a week, the council said.
Over 2000 homes in Taranaki are also still without power after two days, as electricity supplier PowerCo had called in staff from all over the North Island to help with repairs.
