Floodwaters or sanitation concerns, or both, are keeping Edgecumbe residents away.

A small number of Edgecumbe residents can go home today.

A breach in a stopbank of the Rangitaiki River was closed at 11pm last night.

A Rotorua Daily Post reporter and photographer go inside the cordon zone at Edgecumbe.

Edgecumbe resident Tyler Warren raced into the flood zone to rescue his dogs.

But motel owners are worried where evacuees will go once their Easter bookings arrive

Trustpower's CEO says under their flooding plan nothing could have been done differently.

Rescuers used jet boats to reach stranded Edgecumbe locals in yesterday's flooding

Flooding, evacuations and complete chaos - tropical storm Debbie brought it all to NZ.

Mayor Tony Bonne speaks about the unfolding drama. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Mayor Tony Bonne speaks to Local Focus about the unfolding drama. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Some had to flee without shoes. Made with funding from NZ On Air

Red Cross teams are warning residents to keep safe overnight.

Evacuated Edgecumbe residents face the next three days out of their homes.

The order came around 8.30am - Made with funding from NZ On Air

The order came around 8.30am - Made with funding from NZ On Air

100 years on, NZ's darkest hour at Passchendaele remembered with commemorative stamps

A boy with cancer can't get to school because of a severe shortage of disability taxis.

Heavy rain is expected in the region today and tomorrow.

Years ago, a Maori boy was caught stealing lollies at the local Four Square. A report labelled him a "thug". He was 10 years old, writes Dame Susan Devoy.

Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne is confident in the success of the region, despite a Maxim Institute report projecting population decline in the next two decades. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne is confident in the success of the region, despite a Maxim Institute report projecting population decline in the next two decades. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell discusses what the industrial service centre needs to do to ensure a prosperous future, after a Maxim Institute report forecast population decline in the area in the next two decades. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Kawerau District Council staff are working as fast as they can to unblock drains after torrential rain caused flooding of over a metre.

Two women injured when armed robber fires gun during attempted hold up.

Two people have been shot in an attempted armed robbery at a berry farm in Whakatane.

A Whakatane father and his two sons are currently competing in the New Zealand Superbike Championships. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

A Whakatane father and his two sons are currently competing in the New Zealand Superbike Championships. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Police are investigating an incident where a member of the public was stopped by gang associates and a shotgun held to his head at Whakatane.

Twelve men have been arrested in relation to a gang clash on the streets of Whakatane, in which shots were fired and people scrambled for cover.