A magnitude 3.1 earthquake, centred 30 kilometres south of Gisborne, struck just after 10pm last night.

Gisborne and Northern Hawke's Bay were rocked by a series of earthquakes on Monday between magnitude 4.2 and 3.3 at a relatively shallow depth, but no damage has been reported.

A fake NZ doctor hailed as a hero after London's 2005 bombing lied about her role in helping the victims, an inquest has been told.

The MetService's severe weather warning for most of the North Island remains in place today, and Bay of Plenty civil defence emergency workers are on standby after heavy rain pelted the region overnight.

Campers across the upper North Island are tonight preparing to cope with torrential rain.

So, 2010 was the year of dubstep. Clearly. As that's what 25,000 party people, or "revellers" as we media like to call them, moved to until the wee hours of the morning in Gisborne last week.

Photos from the 2010 Rhythm and Vines festival, Gisborne's three-day music festival that attracted 25,000 fans.

A senior member of Whakatane's Maori university, Mark Laws, drowned yesterday at the East Cape settlement of Te Kaha.

Crowd control at Gisborne's Rhythm and Vines festival is being improved after boisterous partygoers forced organisers to shut down bus services last night.