A New Zealand mother has recounted the anguish of watching her two-year-old daughter be swept away by floodwaters unleashed by Cyclone Gabrielle, which has killed at least eight people.
The storm faded into the South Pacific but left a trail of destruction and human suffering on New Zealand's North Island.
Some 10,000 people have been displaced, cities and towns still have no electricity or running water, and local government officials estimate that dozens or even hundreds of communities have yet to be contacted.
Police on Friday confirmed an eighth death as a result of the storm, saying "the person is believed to have died after becoming trapped in floodwaters."
Little by little details are emerging about the scale of the disaster and the horrors suffered by survivors like Ella Louise Collins.
Collins, her husband and their two children were trapped in their one-story home in the hard-hit Hawke's Bay region when the floods hit.
"The water was about 4 inches from the roof of our house and it rose extremely quickly and violently," Collins wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
The family of four tried to escape to the safety of a neighbor's roof, but was stopped by what she called "a sudden torrent of water that nearly drowned us all."
In the chaos, two and a half year old Ivy was swept away and drowned. Collins said the boy "died very quickly."
"Please give us time as we ground ourselves and navigate through this impossible time."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins toured the Hawke's Bay region on Friday, saying "the whole country" felt for the affected communities.
"There are some people who are in a very, very fragile state.
"I'm just asking people to keep going, you know, we'll get through this. We'll come out on the other side. But it's an exceptionally challenging circumstance right now."
- 'The pressure is mounting' -
Hipkins took office less than a month ago with the shock resignation of Jacinda Ardern, who has gained international recognition for her handling of a series of crises, including the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019.
Now, five days after Gabrielle first struck, Hipkins faces growing questions about the speed of his administration's response in one of the world's wealthiest and most disaster-prepared countries.
โThe longer the power is out, the longer the communications are, the more the pressure grows. I'm sorry," Hipkins said.
"I've absolutely felt it on the field today... All I can tell people is: everyone is going as fast as they can to try to reconnect things."
He also told New Zealanders to prepare for several more days of crisis response before the cleanup can begin in earnest, and for "the likelihood of further deaths."
Hipkins said police have "serious concerns" for those still missing, with 4,500 reports of people still missing.
He added that a team of 80 people is working to reduce that number.
With roads and bridges still unusable, the military has been deployed to help provide clean drinking water and supplies by sea and air.
The east coast city of Gisborne issued an urgent warning on Friday that drinking water was unsafe to drink after a "major" failure at the local treatment plant.
Local emergency management officials said it was "unknown" how long the district would be without clean water.
Officials said 62,000 homes across the country were still without power as of Friday.
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