Agencies in Tairāwhiti are scrambling to deliver food and supplies to communities isolated in the wake of Cyclone Hale.
The region has remained in a state of emergency since Tuesday and communication is a major issue for welfare checks.
Many pockets of the region are cut off from roads, power, service and landlines, some since Monday evening.
Those who have connection say the damage is devastating.
Toby Williams farms on the coast south of Tolaga Bay. He said his fencing is flattened, crops destroyed and debris strewn across the land.
"Some of the forestry slash and stuff that's come down is months [worth of work] you can only do little bit by little bit, a machine can only move so much," Williams said.
"I think the roads are going to be in the years and some will never be repaired, there's only so much these roads can take ... so there's going to be some hard decisions in the next few months."
Two unimogs from the Defence Force now in the region distributing welfare packs like food and medication, which for those in even more remote areas like Tauwhareparae and Whareponga are being airlifted.
Deputy mayor Josh Wharehinga said communication was one of the biggest hurdles right now.
"Batteries are getting low, wireless and cellphone network connections are all going down and comms are really patchy all up and down the coast ... but we'll eventually find a way, it may be one person's land inside a community might still be operational so we'll just keep trying," Wharehinga said.
Wharehinga and Minister Kiri Allan flew across the region in a helicopter on Wednesday to view the damage, and said it was "eye opening".
Allan urged isolated residents who are in need of assistance, if they have phone access, to call the council.
State Highway 35 between Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay will open today and Saturday during daylight hours and at select times.
Waka Kotahi will operate a convoy system with a Downer vehicle in the front and the back of the convoy for safety.
Forestry slash has caused much of the damage to those nearby the rivers and streams that flooded and it's made for furious calls for change.
Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor said there needed to be consequences and are calling for a royal enquiry.
"We think they've been getting away with blue murder for far too long and it's time to put a stop to do. It just seems completely unfair that people who live downstream should bare the cost," Taylor said.
Clean ups across the rest of the country
Over in the Coromandel Peninsulia, clean ups have begun but - they're not out of the woods yet.
Thames-Coromandel mayor Len Salt said the region was saturated and feared more slips may occur in the coming days.
"The hills are saturated, the catchments are saturated ... our roading crews are really used to doing this, we've got people all across the district on top of it at the moment but we've still got to keep a close eye on it," Salt said.
South Wairarapa has also been hard hit by the tail of Cyclone Hale.
The community at White Rock was cut off by flooding near the Tuturumuri School, but cleared later yesterday evening.
Tora and Te Awaiti are blocked still by a slip on Tora Road.
The council said roading crews were working to clear slips and assess the state of the roads, but these were hampered by flooding and ongoing land movement.
Further north, Te Wharau Rd is closed between Gladstone and the East Coast.
Several rural roads between Masterton and the coast were also closed.
As the remnants of Cyclone Hale move away from New Zealand, MetService said it should be a settled weekend.
But a front is heading to the South Island and will bring another bout of rain early next week as it moves up the country.
RNZ
