With more wet weather forecast for the Eastern Bay, Whakatāne District Council is asking motorists to drive with caution as further slips and falling trees are possible.

The Eastern Bay is still in clean-up mode after taking a beating from ex-Cyclone Vaianu last weekend.

The council reported extreme wind gusts up to around 150km/h on Sunday afternoon, very large seas and a high tide coinciding with the cyclone making landfall, creating serious coastal inundation risk.

A state of emergency declared by acting Whakatāne mayor Julie Jukes on Saturday morning was lifted on Monday afternoon.

Power supplies, roads and trees took the biggest hits. However, there was no loss of life or severe damage to homes as had been a major concern for Civil Defence authorities.

Trustpower reported more than 10,000 customers were affected by power cuts during the storm, with over 7000 still without power on Monday morning. Ōpōtiki district was hit particularly hard, with around 4500 customers affected.

As of midday yesterday, the number had been reduced to 1846.

Power lines on at least four roads in the Whakatāne district were affected by fallen trees and a major line at the Edgecumbe substation was damaged.

Whakatāne District Council reported more than 60 roads affected across the district and at least 57 known road closures due to fallen trees.

As of midday yesterday, 15 were still being reported as closed and many others reduced to one lane, and caution was urged.

The council said roads remained wet in many areas and slips and falling debris were still possible, particularly with further wet weather forecast in the coming days.

The Rūātoki, Matatā and Waimana water supply pumps remained on generator power and a boil water notice is in place in Rūātoki until further notice.

Waimana residents were asked to continue conserving water and limiting use to essential needs only while the systems remained on backup power.

More than 270 properties in Ōhope and one in coastal Thornton were subject to mandatory evacuations on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning, after the weather system appeared to be tracking directly toward Whakatāne, the council warned of a risk to life for anyone living in a coastal areas, who were strongly advised to evacuate.

The New Zealand Defence Force was deployed to the area to support the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group and set up operations at the Whakatāne council offices on Sunday.

Whakatāne War Memorial Centre and Rangitihi Marae in Matatā were opened as evacuation points for anyone who did not feel safe. These were closed at 12 noon on Monday.

The evacuated residents were cleared to return to their homes shortly after 6pm on Sunday, although people living near steep cliffs, slopes or escarpments were warned to be alert for any signs of movement.

Whakatāne District Council arborist Malcolm Lowe clears one of the district's many fallen trees from council reserve land on Tuesday. Photo / Diane McCarthy

In a live broadcast after the storm, Jukes acknowledged how unsettling the cyclone had been for people.

“I want to sincerely thank those of you who made the difficult decision to evacuate when asked. I know that was not easy, but those actions were brave.”

She also thanked the Emergency Management team for their commitment, professionalism and care for the community, and those who helped neighbours and friends and family during their time of need.

Any service issues, like trees down or slips, should be reported to the council’s 24/7 call centre on 07 3060500. Non-urgent issues could also be logged via the Fix It and Report a Problem form on the council website.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.