11 February 2026
Update: Deployment complete
The NZDF completed its deployment to the Gisborne Tairawhiti region on 8 February when the last of our personnel deployed to the area returned to their home bases.
The NZDF completed its deployment to the Gisborne Tairawhiti region on 8 February when the last of our personnel deployed to the area returned to their home bases.
Over 150 personnel, including those trained in emergency responses and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, were deployed to the region to work with civil defence agencies and local communities following the severe weather event on the East Coast.
The NZDF deployed to Hicks Bay and Te Araroa, carrying out tasks under the direction of the local Emergency Operations Centre and assisted by a command hub in Gisborne.
Among the personnel were those with specialist skills including engineers, plant operators, logistics, and those providing land and air transport.
Over more than a week, they completed a wide range of tasks including cleaning up mud and silt, felling hazardous trees, clearing culverts and drains, and re-supply by land and air including of food, water, tools, and other stores.
Personnel cleared about 2000 cubic metres of silt and debris from houses, roads, fields, and drainage culverts. Royal New Zealand Air Force NH-90s completed many re-supply flights into Hicks Bay and Te Araroa, while supplies were also delivered by land transport.
A military planning team, which had remained in the region over Waitangi Day and the weekend to ensure coordination as NZDF personnel left the area, completed their work on Sunday.
