Weather live updates: Town of Kāwhia cut off by slips according to council, Man dies in Ōtorohanga floodwaters, more wild weather on way
Weather live updates: Town of Kāwhia cut off by slips according to council, Man dies in Ōtorohanga floodwaters, more wild weather on wayNZ Herald 14 Feb, 2026 01:02 AM Quick Read
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 07:15 UTC
Grieving son remembers nature-loving mum killed in crash on SH1 in Northland
The family’s vehicle was involved in a three-vehicle crash, killing Tam and injuring her son and dog. Grady and Nala are recovering well after the crash, but the family now face life without their devoted mum. Hugo said Tam loved nothing more than to see smiles on her children’s faces. Within a few years, she had three children, was a single mum, did not receive child support and was working to support her family, Hugo said. Diana Tam was 44 when she died in a car accident on the way to a camping trip in Northland.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 06:35 UTC
The war on forgetting
It was founded by me (Tane Cotton) so I can consolidate my body of video work under one banner, as a separate entity from my music project Sivle Talk. A I have years of experience in video production and editing as well as organising and promoting live music. When people do something difficult for zero/negative money, you know they’re truly passionate — it’s a labour of love and doesn’t fit into the slop trough of "content". These artists create some truly amazing work that deserves to be encouraged, celebrated and given a platform. A It’s kind of an ambiguous retro-digital style, borrowing aesthetic elements from Y2K home video and ’80s/’90s live music broadcasts.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 06:33 UTC
Waikato floods: Highway bridge collapses, ute plunges into gap north of Ōtorohanga
Bridge 520 on State Highway 39 south of Mangati Rd, near Puketotara, suffered a partial washout amid flooding in parts of Waikato last night. Photo / Wayne FeisstA ute pictured after crashing into the gap left by a washout of Bridge 520 on State Highway 39, near Puketotara. Photo / Wayne FeisstThe farm bridge had “wedged up” on the side of the highway bridge, Feisst said. Floodwaters were flowing over Bridge 520 on State Highway 39, near Puketotara, on Friday night and it has been badly damaged, resident Wayne Feisst says. “We got hold of the council but they were absolutely flat tack with slips obviously everywhere.”A view of damaged Bridge 520 on State Highway 39.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 06:26 UTC
Wine village will lose key roads in severe floods
During October last year alone, the Waihenga bridge closed three times due to flooding, on the 12th, the 23rd and 28th. An engineer's assessment has resulted in the speed limit on Lower Valley Bridge being reduced to 10kmh. Olds said a recent audit of the district's bridges had raised concerns about some, including the Lower Valley bridge. Closure of SH53 will trigger the closure of Lower Valley Bridge." Olds said of the bridges identified with concerns, Lower Valley Bridge was a key priority.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 06:23 UTC
Saying 'I do' on Valentine's Day costly
Photo: Getty ImagesThinking of saying "I do" on Valentine's Day? While Valentine’s Day occasionally becomes the big day – by design or by chance – Dunn isn’t convinced it’s always the best choice. “I think who had an anniversary on Valentine’s Day may be their guests might think it’s a little bit cheesy and so might get a bit shy about getting hitched on Valentine’s Day.”In fact, the busiest day is usually the Saturday that follows. “Kiwis really like the sun, we really like being outdoors, so you’re kind of guaranteed a nice hot sunny day for your big day [in February].”RNZ reporter So'omalo Iteni Schwalger is tying the knot on Valentine’s Day this year - but he, too, says the timing wasn’t really intentional. Karen Hussy, owner of Flowers After Hours, says sales across her three stores are up on last Valentine’s Day - even in a tough economy.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 06:12 UTC
Wild weather: Main highway to small town cut off, residents urged to stay home
🚧 Road Closure: SH31 Kawhia to TihiroaSH31 is closed between Kawhia and Tihiroa due to 🌊 flooding and 🪨 slips. “Avoid the area or delay your journey, if possible.”View of the Ngakoaohia Stream from the Kāwhia turn-off. The main road to the town is closed due to multiple landslides. This comes following the death of a man overnight, after his vehicle became submerged in floodwaters while travelling on SH39. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 05:50 UTC
Christopher Luxon v Chris Hipkins: What voters should expect from a PM – Bruce Cotterill
On the preferred Prime Minister question, Christopher Luxon is narrowly ahead of of Chris Hipkins in both polls. The favoured Prime Minister question is one that I have always considered unusual. In reviewing every Prime Minister of the last 40 years, each one has been very different. It seems the former Prime Minister had challenged the Government on their failure to manage the economy and more particularly, to deliver the recovery. We can only surmise that Hipkins’ Labour want a return to the politics that they enjoyed just three years ago.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 05:48 UTC
Real life intrudes
Jonathan Majors in Magazine Dream. Bodybuilding drama Magazine Dream, now available to stream, is among the big festival hits derailed by bad publicity. Sometimes these films wilt outside the festival hothouse because a critical backlash kicks in. The case of once-buzzy Sundance premiere Magazine Dreams is more unusual. Two months after the film’s Sundance premiere, he was arrested on assault, strangulation and harassment charges against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari; by the year’s end, he’d been convicted.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 05:41 UTC
Two US officers put on leave for lying about Minneapolis shooting
In its initial statement about the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said “an illegal alien from Venezuela” was targeted for a traffic stop and resisted arrest. There has been a national backlash against aggressive immigration operations in the US and a drop in President Donald Trump's approval ratings. The shooting of Sosa-Celis came one week after a federal agent in Minneapolis shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mother of three, which had inflamed protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in the Midwestern city. A second killing of a US citizen in late January fuelled national backlash against the aggressive and highly politicised Minneapolis crackdown. Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration enforcement chief, announced on Thursday the administration was winding down its aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 05:38 UTC
Four lessons NZ should take from another summer of weather disasters
Natural hazards can emerge slowly as accumulated stress, or arrive suddenly as an acute shock. Disasters, on the other hand, occur only when hazards intersect with people, infrastructure and decisions. Lesson 3: How we frame extreme events mattersFor decades, significant natural hazard events in New Zealand have been described as rare, exceptional or “once in a generation”. Lesson 4: NZ must bridge its ‘knowledge-action gap’New Zealand produces world-leading natural hazard research. Recent research showed that 97% of government spending was on responding to, and recovering from, disasters.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 04:34 UTC
Rural girl grew up with the landscape
The oldest daughter of Cardrona Valley sheep farmers in the 1950s, she did not question it - it was just part and parcel of what life was like back then. The daughter of Jack and Mollie Scurr, who farmed sheep at Spotts Creek, she was a rural girl from the beginning, and was probably destined to marry a rural boy, she said. "He was a musterer up at Hunter Valley Station in Hawea. Now 89, Mrs May said she loved the way the Gibbston valley had changed over the years. Now they have tidied it up in the Gibbston valley and I just love it the way it is.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 03:32 UTC
Is it a party or a family?
The Herald has documents in relation to the court case between Te Pati Maori and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. What is fascinating is how they reveal the extent of the Tamihere family control of the party. It goes well beyond what we already knew. Could you imagine this occurring in any other party? This would be like the National Party that has Bill English as Leader, Maria English as General Manager, Maria’s husband as a deputy leader, Mary’s sister as a regional chair, Libby English as another regional chair and Jo Coughlan as a third regional chair.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 14, 2026 03:13 UTC
Farming industry 'on fire'
PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHA successful Southern Field Days at Waimumu wrapped up with a not-so-successful sheep shearing attempt from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. St Peter’s College, Gore, head girl Eilish Greene, 17, said the prime minister came across as a very ‘‘chill guy’’. She planned to pursue a career in medicine and said Mr Luxon talked to her about a variety of options for tertiary education. Southern Field Days chairman Steve Henderson said the past three days had been brilliant and had met all expectations. The prime minister attending the event showed his interest in and recognition of the agricultural industry and how much it meant to New Zealand.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 01:43 UTC
Calls for dedicated Cook Strait rescue tug
The MMA Vision tugboat had been contracted by the government as a standby tug for the Cook Strait ferries. PHOTO: ALEX CAIRNS/STUFFMarlborough’s mayor and the chairperson of the Greater Wellington Regional Council say not having a dedicated open-ocean rescue tug for Cook Strait is putting lives and economic lifelines in peril. Cook Strait, between the North and South Islands, has been left without a tug capable of ocean rescue for more than a week. In case of an emergency, the closest ocean tug would be at least five days away. “The absence of a dedicated emergency tug or rescue capability in the Cook Strait poses unacceptable risks,” the letter said, adding the passageway was one of the most dangerous complex stretches of water in the world to navigate, especially in poor weather.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 14, 2026 01:40 UTC