Tairāwhiti, Gisborne continues to clean up and recover this week after Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread devastation.
The local council have red-stickered nine houses and yellow-stickered 149 so far, as well as put out a warning for people to wear masks when removing silt.
Speaking with Lloyd Burr on Monday afternoon, Gisborne's Mayor Rehette Stoltz said the city is slowly starting their "massive road to recovery".
"Yesterday afternoon, slowly we could see some connectivity coming back and I would say a huge part of our region is now reconnected," Stoltz said.
"It is fragile though because those are temporary fibre fixes… So we are asking everyone to be very, very mindful.
"We still have severe water restrictions and we're still asking our community to conserve water… for the next while we will have to watch our water use."
Stoltz said the community in Tairāwhiti are doing very well to support one another, telling Burr she is very grateful for everyone who is helping out, including those outside of Gisborne.
"There's a lot of heartbreak here… We've had support from the Navy, from so many wonderful organisations across New Zealand that have been supporting us," Stoltz said.
"We've received beautiful donations from across the country and we are still receiving them.
"Shout out to the Gisborne community, we can see that you are trying really hard and we appreciate that."
Listen to the full interview between Rehette Stoltz and Lloyd Burr above.
You can also download the full interview on the Lloyd Burr Live podcast, and listen on the go.
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