Category: AM-NC

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ōtorohanga is under a State of Emergency after it was hit by widespread flooding and heavy rain.

Mayor Rodney Dow made the declaration at 12:57am on Saturday. It expires in seven days.

He said there had been reports of flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious, and with nightfall upon us, it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed.”

Heavy rain warnings and watches are in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue throughout the day.

Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti, in particular, is expected to see a more sustained period of heavy rain.

There are also a heavy rain watches for Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay.

Multiple roads remain closed after significant flooding and slips.

Flooding in Waikato has closed State Highway 39 between Pirongia and Ōtorohanga. A detour is available via State Highway 3.

Whirinaki Valley Road in Horohoro is open under stop/go traffic management following a slip, but the Transport Agency warns the State Highway 30 road could close at short notice if weather conditions changed.

Towards Tai Rāwhiti, other roads remained closed following earlier storms.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge is closed between Ōpōtiki to Mātāwai because of slips and flooding.

State Highway 35 is shut between Pōtaka and Te Araroa while it’s being repaired, while the stretch between Whakaangiangi Road and Te Araroa is also closed for the weekend, because of the adverse weather forecast.

See our live blog above for the latest updates.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/weather-live-state-of-emergency-declared-in-otorohanga/

Source: Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/what-makes-a-good-break-up-song/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former New Zealand cricket star turned Australian love expert John Aiken talks love, scandals and the show that changed reality TV

John Aiken was 15 minutes late for our 15-minute interview to talk about desperate Australian singles chasing their 15 minutes of fame.

A text message from his publicity team explained the problem: he loves to chat, especially about Married at First Sight. And, as a result, he was behind schedule.

Sydney-based Aiken is a relationship expert on the show and is in New Zealand on the publicity trail for the latest season, number 13. But there’s nothing unlucky about this season (unless you are an awkward couple looking for love).

One week in, and the show is already number one in Australia. It now airs in 120 countries, including New Zealand. And here, it’s a ratings hit for Three.

Aiken finally arrived at The Detail studio armed with a chocolate brownie, iced with “I can’t marry you”. He roars with laughter before quickly offering another brownie, this time emblazoned with “Love You”. He has a box of the treats, for each of his interviewers.

A relationship specialist and long-time husband to former New Zealand presenter Kelly Swanson Roe, Aiken loves love.

And that makes him a perfect fit for MAFS, a job he secured after responding to a “random email” that arrived in his inbox at his relationship psychologist practice in 2014, before the start of season one.

Back then, he thought it would be a one-season wonder – four couples took part in the social experiment where they met for the first time at the altar. Just six episodes aired.

“Everybody thought it would be one and done,” Aiken tells The Detail. “I was excited by it, scared by it. But also thinking in the back of my mind, this will be six episodes, and I’ll never see it again.”

But “the show exploded” with audiences quickly falling in love with the unpredictable tears, tantrums, and love drama.

And the now 40-episode show with 12 couples has made Aiken a star in his own right and one of the most recognisable faces in Australia.

But that comes at a cost – last year, he was cornered outside a cafe, filmed, and followed by a podcaster, who told him that the MAFS experts are the “real villains of this show”.

“It’s confronting, because your mind goes into this state of ‘how does someone know where you are?’, and ‘am I being followed?’, you sort of get paranoid, really,” Aiken says.

“And it rattles you a little bit because you are in a state where you feel like you could say something wrong, and you get a ‘gotcha moment’ that could hurt the show or could hurt you. And you are on edge.”

On the show, he’s also had plenty of “moments” with lovelorn contestants who take exception to his straightforward, no-nonsense advice. He’s not afraid to call out toxic behaviour and hold couples accountable for their often-outlandish behaviour.

“During the show, yes, they have had me on, used some colourful language.”

He says this year, audiences have to “brace themselves for a hectic and confronting season”.

“Because we have a group dynamic of very overpowering, domineering women who are going to come for everybody.”

They call themselves the boss babes.

“They band together at the hens’ night, and then they go forth, and they look to conquer anyone and anything during the experiment.

“It makes it very difficult for love to come through in such a toxic environment.”

About 12,000 Aussies now put their hands up to appear on the show every year. But this is then whittled down to the “top 30 or 40” for Aiken and the team to match up.

He appreciates that many are chasing their 15 minutes of fame, but contrary to popular belief, he insists nothing is scripted, singles aren’t plied with alcohol to create drama, and there isn’t a “villain edit … what you see on camera is exactly what you see off camera”.

“People will cross the road to abuse me, but they will also cross the road to thank me because it’s polarising, people will either love it or hate it. They don’t sit in the middle.

“But there are many myths.

“It is totally unscripted and unpredictable, that’s why I watch it like everyone else … even though I have lived it, I don’t know what’s going to make it to air.”

He says couples are told they will be constantly filmed, and it’s up to them how they act and what they say.

But he adds, the show does have “a system [and] a duty of care” to ensure contestants are well supported.

“They meet psychologists before going on the show, and they get fully assessed. They have social media training before they go on the show, and then they have psychologists on set and available to them throughout the show and then after the show indefinitely … so they can really access that support all the time.”

Over the past 12 seasons, just six couples have truly fallen in love and stayed together. But they are crucial to the show’s success.

“We need this – the show has to work, otherwise people aren’t going to watch it, if it was just chaos,” says Aiken, who admitted he wouldn’t be a contestant on the show.

There’s no sign of MAFS losing momentum; if anything, it’s getting bigger and more explosive.

“The show appeals to both singles and couples, so I think it has longevity to it. How long that will be, I’m not sure, but I certainly would love to see it out if I could.”

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/love-lies-and-prime-time-pressure/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Several precious taonga from Ōtorohanga Museum will not be able to be saved after floodwaters rushed inside it.

Almost two dozen members of the community rallied to save what they could.

But it would not be until Saturday that the full extent of the damage could be gauged.

“So by the time we got inside we had called the fire brigade,” museum treasurer Amanda Kiddie said.

“There was nothing they could do of course because it was beyond sandbagging.

“We went inside, there were taonga floating around.”

Kiddie said about 20 people turned up to help, and she was immensely grateful to the community for doing so.

“All nationalities, all cultures, everybody just wanting to save our taonga, just amazing,” Kiddie said.

When she arrived water was above the bottom of the waka whare’s door, the museum’s biggest taonga.

They had to cut power because the power outlets were under water, but managed to save some delicate items.

Some whānau took items home for safety.

But the “beautiful” display boards could not be saved.

Damage to the waka would be looked at in the light of day.

“But the flood waters have actually touched our waka … we’re not quite sure how much there is to assess,” she said.

“Definitely I had some tears.”

As treasurer, Kiddie said she knew all the hard work, money and grants that had gone into the museum.

“And I looked at it and thought, wow, how much of that is now gone in the space of a few hours?”

She spoke to RNZ after she left the museum and was trying to get home to Maihiihi.

“There’s a few cars now stuck but thankfully some of the young local boys are standing there waving people back,” she said.

“The road is a mess, there’s lots of slips, lots of floodwater … there’s floods on roads we didn’t even know would flood.

“I mean, I can’t remember even reading the museum ever flooding,” Kiddie said.

Waikato Regional Council, just before 11pm on Friday, said 165.5mm of rain had fallen on the Pūniu River at Ngaroma in 12 hours.

Church, marae stood up for people unable to get home

Ōtorohanga District Council said on Friday night that St David’s Church on Ranfurly Street was open to anyone who could not make it home.

“If you need somewhere warm and dry, please come by for a hot cup of tea and stay out of the rain,” it said.

The town’s wastewater system was overwhelmed and stretched to capacity, and the council urged people not to flush toilets or use unnecessary water.

“Reducing water use will help ease pressure on the network and minimise the risk of overflows,” it said.

“If you are experiencing flooding, please stay safe and avoid driving through floodwaters. If possible, stay home until conditions improve.”

Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clarke last night posted an update from Civil Defence.

It said Police and FENZ had arrived in Ōtorohanga and were meeting with the Civil Defence controller to get a full picture.

“There are multiple slips on state highway and local roads,” it said.

Waikato Tainui said Te Kotahitanga Marae was also open “for whanau to come to get warm and dry”.

The Waipā district

Waipā District Council last night said it was fielding multiple calls of flooding across the district.

This was particularly around Pirongia and Te Pahu, it said.

Flooding on Friday night closed Kakepuku Road, Corcoran Road, Grey Road and Waite Road in Te Pahu.

“Our teams are on the ground, and we’ll provide updates as soon as we can,” the council said.

Debris and boulders were being pushed onto roads.

Liz Parker, who lived on Corcoran Road, said things got bad quickly.

“There has been huge flooding all the way down our little tiny stream, ripping out a lot of plants and trees and bringing boulders down the river.

“I believe that there’s a big boulder or something that’s blocking the bridge.”

Parker said she had never seen it so bad in her five years living in the area.

Waipā Networks said last night it was responding to power outages caused by the severe weather and flooding, with several areas across its network affected.

“Flooded roads and challenging conditions are limiting crew access, and some customers will remain without power overnight,” it said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/otorohanga-museums-precious-taonga-wrecked-by-floodwaters/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A local state of emergency has been declared in Ōtorohanga, Waikato, after the district was lashed by heavy rains.

The declaration was made at 12:57am on Saturday and will stay in effect for seven days.

Mayor Rodney Dow said the district had experienced widespread flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious … it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed,” he said.

“I urge you to stay safe and do not venture out into floodwater.”

Ōtorohanga District Council said an emergency operations centre had been stood up in its chambers after the initial deluge.

Duty controller Dave Simes formally advised the council to declare the state of emergency to allow response agencies to draw on additional resources and powers, it said.

Infrastructure and emergency services have worked through the night to assess damage caused by the weather, including on water infrastructure and roading, the council said.

The Lines Company website showed some households have been without power overnight, with further outages reported in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Heavy rain warnings and watches remain in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue throughout the day.

MetService has issued orange heavy rain warnings for Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti, in particular, is expected to see a more sustained period of heavy rain.

There are also a heavy rain watches in place for Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay.

Multiple roads remain closed after significant flooding and slips.

Flooding in Waikato has closed State Highway 39 between Pirongia and Ōtorohanga. A detour is available via State Highway 3.

Whirinaki Valley Road in Horohoro is open under stop/go traffic management following a slip, but the Transport Agency warns the State Highway 30 road could close at short notice if weather conditions chang.

Towards Tai Rāwhiti, other roads remain blocked following recent storms.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge is closed between Ōpōtiki to Mātāwai because of slips and flooding.

State Highway 35 is shut between Pōtaka and Te Araroa while it’s being repaired. The stretch between Whakaangiangi Road and Te Araroa is closed until Monday, because of the adverse weather forecast.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/otorohanga-under-week-long-state-of-emergency-more-rain-on-the-way/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A State of Emergency has been declared in Ōtorohanga, after the district was hit by widespread flooding and heavy rain.

The declaration took effect immediately when it was signed at 12:57am and expires in seven days.

Mayor Rodney Dow said there had been reports of flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious, and with nightfall upon us, it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed.”

Significant flooding and slips have closed highways in Ōtorohanga, Waikato, as heavy rain hits the region.

Heavy rain warnings and watches are in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue into Saturday morning.

An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty including Rotorua and Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti.

Meanwhile, Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Waikato and Waitomo as well as Hawke’s Bay and Manawatū are all under a heavy rain watch.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/as-it-happened-warnings-across-north-island/

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Waimarino business owners work through tough summer after November fire
• Many hope for decent winter snow dump to boost coffers
• DOC says burned area rejuvenating.

In early November, a wall of smoke loomed large over the tourism-dependent, central North Island town of Waimarino.

After a couple of days wet weather and the round-the-clock efforts of firefighters put out the blaze, which had burned through almost 3000 hectares of the Tongariro National Park.

But Waimarino continues to feels its effects. The fire closed the popular Tongariro Crossing walking track for more than a week – meaning the peak season started slowly.

And there were further blows when a smaller fire ignited in December, while wet weather has hit the region too.

All this has left business owners in the town hoping for a good dumping of winter snow on Mt Ruapehu to get the area and its tills humming again.

Worst summer in a decade: motel owner

Adventure Lodge and Motels was fully booked when RNZ visited this week, but owner Gillian Visser said until now the usual summer peak season had not taken off.

“I’ve been here 10 years and, I have to say, this is probably the worst summer we’ve had, income wise.

“This makes us a little bit worried for winter because normally we can be like little squirrels and squirrel away the money.”

Without that to see them through winter, Visser was among those hoping for lots of snow.

“We made no money in three quarters of November because people stayed away because of the fire. Then, everything was delayed.

“There was a trickle-over effect of people putting off their trip and now we’re really busy. February is fabulous.”

On State Highway 4, Chrissi Phillips-Ryburn’s food truck Tātahi – The Beach faced the wall of smoke shrouding the central plateau when the 8 November fire spread.

“It was quite catastrophic for the area to watch, as all events like that are,” she said.

“They take a personal toll on people.”

She said people were asking what was going to happen and how would it affect them.

And it has had an effect – this week Phillips-Ryburn had to let go an employee.

“The following weeks beyond that fire were quite catastrophic. Customers didn’t come. There was no tourism.

“It’s been really difficult for all the businesses locally because the numbers just haven’t been there.”

Poor summer weather a battle

Sam Wilson opened The Station cafe at Waimarino’s railway station last year and so far has traded through a tough winter and then the fire.

“The effect was short term and we got back up to pace pretty quickly,” he said.

“Where we’ve seen a potential slowdown in trade is where they’ve put restrictions on the start of the crossing, whereby no private vehicles are allowed up there and it’s only accessed via commercial operators.”

The cost of about $70 for that could put off some travellers, he said.

RNZ visited the cafe during a busy weekday early afternoon with the sun shining.

But, for Wilson, the weather’s the biggest battle.

“This summer’s been horrendous, so that’s had a big effect.

“When the crossing is not doable due to wind and low visibility, that’s had a big effect on trade.

“Talking to other operators in the area, they say it’s down considerably and you wouldn’t put that down to the fires. I’d put that down to the atrocious weather.”

Enjoying the sun outside while his friends waited for a train was Adrian Boden, who spends summer in Waimarino – formerly known as National Park.

While he said the town had returned to normal, the nearby landscape was still scarred.

“When you drive along the main road of that area you do see it from a distance and it’s so different,” he said.

“You actually can see, wow, that was some fire. I think it was 3000ha and you can see the destruction that it wreaked.”

English tourist Izzie Robertson also saw some fire damage when doing the Tongariro Crossing.

She said she and her friends did not consider cancelling after they had checked the walk was still possible.

“When we were driving up towards the site of the trail there was a lot of burnt vegetation and stuff like that.

“But, after we started doing the trail we didn’t notice much damage.”

Short-term effect

Tongariro Crossing Lodge owner Louis van Wyk said the fire’s effects didn’t last, but the region was owed a decent winter.

“We had quite a few cancellations because people couldn’t do the crossing for at least a week and there was uncertainty about how long that would last.

“We did definitely have an impact for those first few days and couple of weeks. Since then it’s almost like it didn’t happen.”

Van Wyk is a volunteer firefighter. He helped with efforts battling the November blaze and was one of the first on the scene for the smaller December fire.

“Just seeing it go was very sobering and sad. I was thinking, ‘is this going to be the same again?’ – but fortunately that one went on to be a bit smaller.”

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said the region was busy now, as plenty of groups of visiting walkers and cyclists took advantage of the more settled weather.

He expected electronic figures reported by council-controlled organisation Visit Ruapehu would show the effects of the fire.

Department of Conservation technical adviser, flora and ecosystems Paul Cashmore said the fire destroyed vegetation, and killed native birds, lizards and insects.

No critically endangered species were known to live in the burned area.

“Anyone who has visited the area recently can attest to the regrowth of plants and presence of birds in the burned zone,” he said.

“This regeneration began within the first couple of weeks post fire and shows the resilience of this landscape. While the system will naturally recover, pressures like invasive weeds threaten this process.

“Maunga Ora, the recovery plan led by Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro with DOC, will largely be focused on weed control.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/13/businesses-face-hard-times-in-months-following-tongariro-fire/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Saturday is Caturday at a south Auckland animal shelter, where a bumper crop of kittens are in desperate need of forever homes.

The SPCA has more than 30 kittens available for adoption at its Māngere Centre, where it says the 40-year-old building is crumbling and part of the cattery floods when it rains.

The organisation has seen a surge in cats needing to be adopted across the country, and it hopes its Caturday events will see people heading home with a new family member in tow.

At the Māngere shelter, Michaela Foggin has a cat-lover’s dream job.

“I am a senior feline attendant so my job during the day is caring for the cats, feeding them, cleaning them, medicating them, making sure they get all the love and attention possible.”

She will be helping to adopt out the bumper crop of kittens.

“We’ll do walk-ins and they can come through, look at all the kittens we have available for adoption, meet some, cuddle some and they usually pick you so it can be pretty easy when you’re coming in to meet and adopt a kitten.”

More than 30 kittens are available for adoption at the Māngere shelter, where vet Nathan Wong has worked for five years.

“We’re inundated with cats and kittens at this time. The reason for that is with the warmer weather they always want to have babies at this time of year which is really cute,” he said.

“There’s more cats than we’ve got cages to deal with so Caturdays is one of those things where we try to adopt out as many cats as we can because the more cats we adopt out, the more we can take in.”

The decades-old shelter is falling apart, riddled with asbestos and rust.

The SPCA said the buildings would need to be vacated this year – a new purpose-built centre is being built in Wiri, due to be finished in November.

Graeme Ford manages the Māngere shelter and said the run-down buildings were risky for both staff and the animals.

He said a worker recently tripped and broke their wrist and thumb – and part of the cattery flooded when it rained.

“We’ve got 18 pens here and nine of them flood, every time we’ve got rain and it’s not heavy rain anymore now it’s just any rain.”

The pens flood deep enough to fill the cats’ water bowls – there are platforms in each pen the cats can safely jump to.

“It’s not ideal for the animals and it’s not ideal for the staff who’ve got to come in the next morning and think this is what they’ve got to take an hour or two out of their day to clean up the mess from the flood.”

Ford said some of the dog kennels were rusting and asbestos had been found in parts of the buildings.

“There’s a lot of asbestos on site. It is stable and it is marked where it is but it’s not ideal especially as the building starts to show some deterioration, we wouldn’t want the deterioration to be shown around the asbestos and put anyone at risk.”

The SPCA’s new shelter in Wiri is due for completion in November and will be a much larger hub, it’s still fundraising for $10 million.

“We need someone with some deep pockets to try and help out and get us there and get these cats and dogs into a better space,” Ford said.

The Māngere centre cared for more than 5500 animals last year and bigger buildings at Wiri will allow an additional 2000 animals to be helped.

Meanwhile, Ford said they also needed more foster parents to take animals home for short stays and relieve pressure on their kennels and pens – animal food and any medications are provided.

Roma Timpson is a vet nurse and seasoned foster parent, the day RNZ visited she was taking home two kittens, one had an eye removed, the other a leg amputated.

“It doesn’t have to be forever, it is really hard giving them back but knowing that you’ve done your part to help, you can send them off just knowing they’re ready to go to homes.”

The SPCA said anyone ready to give some T-L-C to some four legged friends can check online when Caturdays are held in their region.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/13/more-than-30-kittens-available-for-adoption-at-south-auckland-animal-shelter/