The stories of people who were rescued from flood-stricken Hawke's Bay are emerging.
After hours spend stuck on the roof, help finally arrived for those who were stranded in the area. It was a gift from the heavens in the form of a helicopter. At huge risk, some men were whisked off to safety.
The same rescues were repeated hundreds of times across Hawke's Bay on Wednesday, where helicopter after helicopter helped a fresh load of heartbroken people in need.
Farmer Todd Moris was one of those who was rescued after five hours on a roof. He left behind his flooded land and beloved dogs.
"It was intense, especially with dogs sitting on the roof, and the chopper comes and picks you up," Moris said.
He was sent to the Hastings Sports Centre where he will spend the night with hundreds of other people who have no home to go to.
"Yesterday, north of 300 people were rescued in Hawke's Bay and are being cared for at Civil Defence Centres," Civil Defence Minister Kieran McAnulty said.
From a helicopter view, it's easy to see just how deadly Cyclone Gabrielle has become, with home after home completely destroyed.
Only the roofs of some were visible, painting a picture of just what people, like Ross Cocking, went through.
"Managed to get out onto my roof, waved a boat down, and he came and got me," Cocking said.
He made a brave effort to share his story, but it was still too raw to live through again.
He tearily told Newshub: "I live at Pakowhai. We drove up to see the river. It was flowing really fast, so we came back home.
"One of the neighbours had push-biked down from down the road and said, 'The river's breached further up. It's coming this way'."
It's not just homes destroyed - livelihoods have been too. Entire orchards are submerged in metres of water causing millions of dollars worth of damage.
Critical infrastructure is also gone with entire bridges and roads washed away.
"We remain in an urgent response mode in the Hawke's Bay region. There are seven outstanding requests for evacuation. None have been identified as critical. All those who were on roofs have been rescued," Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said in a press conference on Wednesday.
The most heartbreaking thing about the cyclone is the people who have died.
"There have been four confirmed fatalities as a result of the cyclone. The grief of their families and loved ones would be imaginable," Hipkins said.
Cyclone Gabrielle has caused devastation in Hastings far beyond expectation and belief.
