After a long ordeal yesterday, the Tongan orchard workers, who were stranded on their bungalow rooftops by rising floodwaters near Hastings, New Zealand, were rescued at around 5:00pm yesterday and evacuated to two evacuation centres.

The 50 men are now located in the centers at Napier and the Hastings Sports Centre, Sita Tu'ihalamaka-Polota, Overseas Employment Division (Labour Sending Unit) ot the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Matangi Tonga today at 11:00am.

Dozens of Tongan seasonal workers who were stranded on top of their flooded bungalows were finally rescued by the New Zealand Defence Force yesterday.

RNZ reported that the bungalows became flooded after the nearby Tutaekuri River burst its banks due to the heavy downpour from Cyclone Gabrielle.

Tongan seasonal worker liaison Tevita Niulata confirmed to RNZ the fruit pickers had been taken to an evacuation centre in Hastings.

"They have been rescued by the Civil Defence team, including the police… Almost all of them lost their possessions."

Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said around 6:00pm yesterday, 14 February the rescue was still underway.

Hawke's Bay Civil Defence had said rescuing the workers by boat was not an option, due to strong torrents of water in the area.

Earlier on Tuesday, Niulata said the men were cold and hungry, but resilient after having lived through the Tonga volcano disaster.                                                                                                      

Auckland Tongan community leader Pakilau Manase Lua said families in Tonga had been watching on as their relatives filmed while perched on roofs surrounded by tree tops.