Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan says she had to rescue her partner after getting caught up helping with the response to Gisborne's wild weather and leaving her at home.
A state of emergency was declared for the region on Thursday after some areas received more than 200mm of rain in the past 24 hours. Many areas were flooded forcing some residents to evacuate.
Speaking with The AM Show on Friday, Allan said she was busy helping with the response when she got an "SOS" call from her partner.
"I knew that it was likely a state of local emergency was going to be declared earlier yesterday so I came down to the ECC centre and left my partner at home working.
"I got caught up, as you do in the response, and I got an SOS call at about 6pm saying, "Hello dear, the power is out, I think most of the community has evacuated. Would you like to come get me?' I was like, 'Oh yes, of course, of course' so I did my own rescue around 6pm," Allan said.
She said her partner was okay and is a "resilient lass" who "got on just fine"
Allan said the community is now assessing the damage from the weather. Farmers are particularly concerned as it's a "critical" time for growing.
"There were a number of evacuations and self evacuations yesterday... There were welfare centres established and a lot of people went to stay with friends and family… so we will touch base with them throughout the course of the day.
"Horticulture is really a big driver here and we are in a critical period of growth as we come into the summer seasons… so we've been in touch with them to assess the damage… they are out there undertaking assessments."
She said Thursday was the wettest day for November since records began.
"It was the wettest day for November since they started monitoring rainfall rates in 1937 so there are a lot of people with wet cats and dogs, and a fair bit of damage throughout the region."
