Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Emergency Management Minister, Mark Mitchell, says Cyclone Vaianu could've been much worse - and Kiwis prepared well.  Gisborne and some other East Coast communities are still cut off with sections of State Highways 2 and 35 closed, due to fallen trees, flooding and slips.  The last of MetService's strong wind warnings and watches for Wairarapa and the Tararua District are set to ease at 7 this morning. Mark Mitchell told Ryan Bridge several thousand houses were evacuated across the North Island. He says some of them have flooded, but a lot were precautionary evacuations - which was the right thing to do.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.