Health researchers warn that "superheated" storms like Cyclone Gabrielle will increasingly affect people's health.
The impact is already being felt in Hawke's Bay, which has seen a rise in the life-threatening bacterial disease leptospirosis.
It's been over two months since Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc on the North Island's east coast.
And doctors say the extreme weather event is still having a huge effect on people's health.
"A lot of it is still dealing with the distress that's going on, and there are illnesses that come up as well that are related to the flooding," College of GPs president Samantha Murton told Newshub.
Illnesses like life-threatening leptospirosis. Sixteen confirmed cases of the bacterial disease have been confirmed in Hawke's Bay since the cyclone hit.
Most cases were likely caused by contact with contaminated floodwaters.
"I'm sure with time there will be more cases that turn up and so we need to be vigilant," said Murton.
And health researchers warn that storm-related diseases will become even more common as the planet warms, creating more storms and more warm environments for bacteria to breed in.
"I would certainly characterise it as a public health crisis," said public health physician Dr Rhy Jones.
Dr Jones has been looking into the public health risks following the Auckland and east coast floods.
A new report he co-authored in the New Zealand Medical Journal, says the long-term effects on people could be nasty.
"We've seen a lot of flood damage to housing and that's creating really unhealthy conditions for people to be living in, as well as the mental health impacts that can be really serious," he said.
Health impacts will only get worse if we don't take more action on climate change.
"These cyclones are becoming more intense because we are adding energy to the climate system that's global warming, we are putting a lot more heat into the atmosphere," said climate scientist James Renwick.
The heat can cause devastation, not only to people's livelihoods but also to their health.
