People in Gisborne are being warned to stop using water immediately until further notice.

The Gisborne District Council says the water treatment system has failed.

Council manager Scotty Sharp says people need to “stop all use right now”.

“Everything, absolutely everything,” he says.

“Critical, it’s absolutely critical. We need to get the info out to the public because it’s just failed and it’s just failed now.”

Sharp says the council doesn’t know why it’s failed, but silt could have overloaded the system.

Meanwhile, people in Auckland are still being evacuated from their homes in Piha as land remains dangerous and unstable days after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Locals are warning city sightseers to stay away from the Auckland beach community, saying they are still in the middle of an emergency.

The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle has now risen to seven after police confirmed a person is believed to have died after being caught in flood waters in Waiohiki, near Napier.

Overnight, the second firefighter caught in the Muriwai landslide died in hospital.

Follow the latest weather updates with RNZ’s live blog below: