Coming up on Te Karere... East Bay of Plenty hit by the wrath of Cyclone Debbie. But relief today for Whanganui residents as the flood risk. And te reo capability on the latest smartphone from Huawei. 06 April 2017 Due to the live nature of Te Karere, some segments will not be subtitled. Tena koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. Cyclone Debbie continues to cause chaos across the country. Thousands have been affected, with roads, schools and workplaces closed and homes evacuated. One of the areas worst hit was the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Rapaera Tawhai has been in the thick of the action all day and joins us live from Whakatane. Scotty, it has gone from bad to worse for the Whakatane area. Pack up and leave, this was the message for Edgecumbe residents due to flooding. However when one's home is evacuated, another opens. The Whakatane Memorial Hall has opened its doors to shelter evacuees. As the Rangitaiki River breached it's banks because of flooding, the residents of Thornton grew anxious and so they have left their homes and school. The call has been made to early-breach the river bank of the Rangitaiki River to ease the flow. Volunteers from another region have come to the the rescue. And they are constantly reminding those in the Bay of Plenty not to go near flood waters. We're unable to provide subtitles. As the Whakatane and Rangitaiki rivers breached their banks, the Whanganui River floodwaters were receding. The state of emergency has been lifted, roads reopened, and evacuees were allowed to return home today. Eruera Rerekura reports. When the news of the flood arrived Sacha Keating and others were at Koriniti Marae for a taonga puoro wananga. This isn't an unfamiliar situation for him. His visitors weren't even afraid of the river, At the moment people from Putiki are returning to their homes as well as people who live close to the river. Eruera Rerekura, Te Karere. In Wellington last night, heavy rain caused slips, flooding and evacuations. This landslide saw a footpath destroyed, breaking a gas main and leaving a car teetering, while another blocked a lane of traffic. A swollen stream broke its banks, the floodwater causing ten houses to be evacuated. Across to the South Island, Kaikoura is still cut off with both routes in and out of the town remaining shut due to bad weather and surface flooding. Yesterday mudslides closed State Highway 1 south to Christchurch. The slips pushed rock-filled containers right across the road. And the inland road from Waiau has been closed since 10pm last night. Heavy rain and strong wind warnings remain in place for both Kaikoura and Banks Peninsula. Police are looking for Auckland man Turiarangi Tai as they continue to investigate the death of 22-year-old woman, Chozyn Koroheke. Koroheke received a fatal gunshot wound on Tuesday evening at an address in Pakuranga Heights. Detective Senior Sergeant Kevin Tiernan says Chozyn's death is a complete tragedy for her family and they are now focusing on locating her partner, 22-year-old Turiarangi Tai. Police are still working to establish exactly what has happened at the address but it is believed this is a domestic related incident. Police have recovered a firearm from the scene but are still making enquiries as to whether this was the gun used in the incident. After the break, claims made Heritage NZ is underfunded. Huawei makes te reo Maori available on its latest phone. The Maori Party say Heritage New Zealand resources are being stretched to protect wahi tapu, but the proposed changes to the Resource Management Act could boost those protections. Heritage NZ receive $13 million in annual funding, and MP Marama Fox says that's not enough. Ripeka Timutimu has more. Sites of significance like this recent discovery in Tauranga are protected by Heritage New Zealand. But the Maori Party says it's not enough. Since 2007 Heritage New Zealand have brought 15 prosecutions under the Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Act 2014. One of those cases concerned Phillip and Haysley MacDonald. Heritage NZ allege the pair had modified an archaeological site without authority here at Wairau. It was settled out of court after the pair paid $15,000 to Heritage NZ. Fox says the penalty should have been harsher. The Maori Party say they would increase funding to Heritage New Zealand to further protect sites of significance around the country. Ripeka Timutimu, Te Karere. A pathogen that could be deadly to native plant life has been discovered on New Zealand's outer islands. Experts have grave concerns after the discovery of myrtle rust, as while it could be detrimental to native species, it also poses a huge threat to the bio infrastructure. Hania Douglas explains. Our native plants could be on the brink of extinction. Recently the pathogen myrtle rust was found on Raoul Island. There are many theories as to how the pathogen travels. If this does hit Northland as some are predicting, we'll lose our kahikatoa, we'll lose the ability to produce honey, jobs will be lost, we'll have no fire wood, we won't be able to cook hangi or smoke fish and tuna. All these things will be lost to us. But biosecurity expert Thomas Malcolm says there is a bright side to the discovery. The Department of Conservation is still investigating the discovery which will help experts make a plan to fight this threat. Hania Douglas, Te Karere. Te reo Maori is now at the tip of your fingers with a new phone by Chinese company Huawei. The P10 phone offers all applications and texts in te reo and the company says it s a project to celebrate and embrace the uniqueness of the Maori language to New Zealand. This report from Irena Smith shows just how easy it makes texting in te reo. It's frustrating for many te reo speakers. Texting in Maori is not easy. The answer, is Huawei's new smartphone, purpose built with Maori in mind. That's what the Chinese company is seeking to do. It took a year to work on, costing around $1 million. While it was a Chinese company that has recognised our language, While it was a Chinese company that has recognised our language, smartphones are a constant companion for the everyday man. Indeed, it's brought te reo Maori to the modern age. It's opened up a new world for us because in the past texting in te reo was a mission but not now, its easy. And Te Matawai's media delegate applauds te reo Maori being supported by non-Maori. It's a tool for the new age that will help with the survival of the Maori language into the future. Irena Smith, Te Karere. We have Mana Party leader Hone Harawira live with us now. Tena koe, Hone. We're unable to provide subtitles. After the break, last night's Magic vs Central Pulse netball game went right down to the wire. And we have the weather. To the weather now. For weather, see tvnz.co.nz. To netball and after a close shoot-out the Magic remain unbeaten in the ANZ Premiership. The Central Pulse took the home side to the wire but were pipped at the post, the Magic edging them out 52-50. It s the toughest contest the Magic have had this season but they're riding on a high taking three from three. Magic's captain Casey Kopua was celebrated for her 150 ANZ games and also her contribution to the Silver Ferns following her recent retirement from international netball. That's all we have for today. Turou Hawaiki. Captions were made possible with funding from Te Mangai Paho.