Recap of all of Wednesday's developments as the Tairāwhiti region was hit by flooding:
What you need to know
- A state of emergency has been declared in Tairāwhiti after rising river levels led to the evacuation of some residents on the East Coast overnight.
- State Highway 35 north of Tolaga Bay has closed due to flooding. Parts of it are being reopened temporarily this afternoon.
- Tairāwhiti Civil Defence have evacuated residents from several areas, including Mangatuna, Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay.
- Gisborne has been hit by around three months worth of rain in just 24 hours. MetService reported the city had received 250-300mm of rain from late Tuesday to late Wednesday, with at least another 100mm expected to fall overnight.
Live updates
9.30pm: MetService says another 100-150mm of rain is expected to fall in Tairāwhiti between 8pm on Wednesday and 10am on Thursday.
"This rain is expected to cause dangerous river conditions and significant flooding. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities," MetService said.
Light to moderate rain is also expected to fall throughout the rest of Thursday.
9pm: The orange heavy rain warning for the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua has now been lifted. A thunderstorm warning for Ōpōtiki has also been lifted. There are now no warnings or watches in place for Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.
8.30pm: The latest satellite imagery from MetService shows a large band of heavy rain (blue) sweeping across the Tairāwhiti region. The area has already received around 300mm of rain in the past 24 hours.
7.30pm: MetService says Gisborne has received between 250-300mm in the last 24 hours, with more still to come. This is a huge amount of rain to fall in the area, especially in March. The historical average for Gisborne in March is 94mm, while the highest monthly rainfall in the past two years was 287mm last November.
6.05pm: Meanwhile, heavy rain and thunderstorms are also striking the coast to the east of Whangārei. While classified as severe, MetService say the storm will avoid the city as it heads southeast.
6pm: River flooding is expected to get worse overnight, according to NIWA. A number of rivers between Ruatoria and Wairoa in Hawke's Bay are likely to flood, while high tide may impact the ability for the rivers to drain.
4.45pm: Gisborne is expected to be hit by more rain tonight. MetService are predicting downpours of between 30mm to 50mm an hour from around 6pm and well over 100mm between then and 2am on Thursday.
3.25pm: MetService has issued another weather update.
3.00pm: Mangatuna resident Zak Horomia, who is also chairman of the Hinemaurea ki Mangatuna Marae, says roads were flooded overnight and inflatable rescue boats (IRBs) and a rescue helicopter had to be used to rescue some people.
A pump is currently being used to remove water from the flood bank that has been set up around the marae to protect it. The marae itself only suffered surface flooding.
Zak says the water has receded quite a bit since this morning but they're expecting more rain.
Local Zak Horomia describes efforts to evacuate residents overnight and to prepare for further downpours. (Source: 1News)
2.30pm: Gisborne District Council is advising that parts of SH35 are to reopen for a short time this afternoon.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will reopen State Highway 35 between Gisborne and Tolaga Bay and Potaka and the Ruatoria intersection with SH35 for 4 hours between 2pm and 6pm this afternoon to allow people to get home or travel for essential purposes ahead of more heavy rain setting in again later this evening.
Waka Kotahi will reassess in morning, with a view to open at 10am.
Waka Kotahi National Journey Manager Helen Harris says the areas between Gisborne and Tolaga Bay and Potaka and Ruatoria will close again at 6pm and remain closed overnight to ensure people’s safety, as the heavy rain forecast for this evening could cause further disruption.
The detour route via State Highway 2 will add considerable time to a trip and motorists are asked to delay their journeys and avoid unnecessary travel, where possible.
The Bay of Plenty is also experiencing heavy rain and this may impact the detour route, particularly SH2 through the Waioeka Gorge
The road will remain closed between Tolaga Bay and Te Puia Springs, where it is unsafe to reopen the road.
2.25pm: Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz says the rain has started again and that the region needs to brace for more to come.
1.15pm: Debris and mud is covering sections of the road between Tologa Bay and Tokomaru Bay, making it pretty much impassable in anything other than a four-wheel drive.
1.05pm: Eastern Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne have been added to the Severe Thunderstorm Watch.
12.50pm: Uawa Civil Defence says that Anaura Bay, north of Tologa Bay, has "had a bit of a battering" in the severe weather.
12.30pm: Footage captured by the Trust Tairawhiti Eastland Helicopter Rescue Helicopter shows some of the extent of the flood damage in the region.
It has left Tologa Bay after assisting Fire and Emergency New Zealand and New Zealand Police to check flooded areas.
They picked up two individuals from the top of a digger in the river at the Anaura Bay turnoff. The pair were found safe and well and were transported back to waiting fire crews and ambulance.
12.20pm: MetService has created this helpful animation showing what heavy rain warnings look like on the ground.
12.15pm: Rotorua wastewater service provider TRILITY, Fulton Hogan and Council staff have responded to two wastewater overflows in the city this morning caused by heavy rainfall overnight.
Sampling is underway to understand the impact of the overflows on the network. However, with the amount of rain in the past 24 hours, it is likely that contaminants in the stormwater network will be higher in general.
Advice from Toi Te Ora Public Health is to avoid waterways for 48 hours after heavy rain due to the potential contamination from rural and urban run-off.
12.00pm: Civil Defence Controller, Dave Wilson, has given an update, urging people on the East Coast to stay off the roads unless absolutely essential.
"Don't make our job harder by driving round," he says.
People who have been evacuated are being looked after in a number of locations, including local marae and Tologa Bay School.
Contractors are en route to help with powerlines and trees that have come down. Bridges and abutments have also been damaged or washed away.
Wilson says Civil Defence is worried about the further rain expected and they will be monitoring it overnight.
"Please make a plan. If you're worried or in doubt, get out," he says, asking anyone who doesn't have anywhere to go to get in touch with Civil Defence.
"As always, it's humbling to watch everybody look after each other. Our Civil Defence volunteers overnight, they've been up all night knocking on doors making sure our whānau are safe. So huge mihi to them."
Some residents were forced to evacuate and some communities have been cut off by flooding. (Source: 1News)
11.40am: 1News Reporter Cushla Norman is on the outskirts of Tologa Bay where they're waiting for crews to fix powerlines that have fallen onto the road.
11.35am: Gisborne District Council has updated the list of roads that are closed due to flooding and other issues.
11.30am: Jarred Moroney, General Manager Eastland Network, says around 650 customers are still without power in Tairāwhiti.
Crews have just restored power south of Tokomaru, including Arthur Street and are working to fix those other outages they can reach.
Efforts to restore power are being hampered by access issues, with roads flooded or closed. Eastland crews been working to find alternative ways to reach and fix the faults safely.
Falling trees and floodwaters have caused a number of poles and lines to come down and people are urged to be cautious as these could be live.
10.50am: Emergency crews have been called out in Rotorua after heavy rain overnight.
48mm of rain fell between midnight and 9am this morning, according to Rotorua Lakes Council.
The Bay of Plenty region is still under a heavy rain warning until 9pm on Wednesday night and a further 25mm of rain is forecast for today.
More than a dozen flooding incidents have been reported so far and the Council is urging people to contact them about any weather-related issues on 07 348 4199.
10.30: Roads have been turned into rivers in some areas, including the small town of Mangatuna, where people are being evacuated in boats and by a rescue helicopter.
Residents in the small Tairāwhiti town have had to be evacuated due to flooding. (Source: Supplied)
10.15: A Red weather warning has been issued for Tairāwhiti - the highest alert level for heavy rain.
10.10am: Civil Defence have given an update on the situation in Tairāwhiti.
- People have been evacuated from their homes at Mangatuna, Uawa, Anaura Bay, Kaiaua, Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay, with some self-evacuating.
- State Highway 35 is closed from Okitu north, with the bridge at Tokomaru Bay washed out. A number of local roads are also closed.
- Some of the rainfall figures have exceeded the one-in-100 year levels, with Te Puia having 236mm between 6pm and midnight.
- The upper Hikuwai River experienced 234mm over the past 24 hours. Mata at the headwaters of the Waiapu receiving 234mm and the Hikuwai at Willowflat 222mm.
- The Hikuwai River peaked at 12.8m and while it's dropping more rain is expected from later tonight.
- One person was successfully rescued from a car that ended up in the river at Tokomaru Bay.
- Power lines are down across roads with numerous slips and people are being encouraged to look out for any lines across roads.
- Dave Wilson, group controller for Tairāwhiti Civil Defence, who declared the state of emergency at 6.30am, is asking people to stay off the roads and urging people to call in damage and flooding to Council’s 0800 653 800 number.
10.00am: Te Aotawarirangi Kohanga Reo at Waima Point, about 3km from Tokomaru Bay, has been damaged by floods.
9.45am: The Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust are in Tolaga Bay, assisting Fire and Emergency New Zealand checking flooded areas and picking up stranded people where road access is unavailable.
Country Helicopters are checking powerlines and Ashworth Helicopters are assisting.
9.35am: Gisborne residents are being warned to expect a further 150 to 200mm of rain between 10am and 7am Thursday.
Peak rates of 30 to 55mm/h are expected.
9.10am: MetService is warning that Gisborne isn't out of the woods yet and could see further heavy rain this afternoon.
9.05am: Tokomaru Bay residents have sent in footage of the Mangahauini Bridge, which has been badly damaged and no traffic can get through.
9.00am: SH35 between Gisborne and Potaka remains closed and motorists are being urged to delay their trips until slips and washouts can be cleared.
8.30am: Minister for Emergency Management, Kiritapu Allan, told Breakfast that the state of emergency powers kicked in at 6.30am this morning. Allan says that if the Hikuwai breaches the region is in for "quite a signficant period" of recovery and is urging people in the area to stay home.
Earlier this morning: State Highway 35 north of Tolaga Bay has also closed due to flooding.
NZTA advises motorists consider SH2 as the detour route and allow extra time for travel. An update will be provided when the road status has changed.
Fire and Emergency NZ said it has responded to a slip in the area and a car submerged in water.
State Highway 35 north of Tologa Bay was also closed due to flooding. (Source: Breakfast)
Police say a man trapped in his car after a power pole fell on it at Waipu Rd, Tokomaru Bay this morning has been rescued.
However, there are two power poles down on Waipu Road, Tokumaru Bay, and the road is impassable. The road will be closed south of Te Puia Springs.
Another person was rescued at 2:30am after they were trapped in their car which was fully submerged in water.
The Emergency Management Minister says she expects things to “get worse before they get better”. (Source: Breakfast)
Police say they’ve received reports of multiple slips and road closures on the East Coast.
Uawa Civil Defence emergency manager Greg Shelton told 1News both the Hikuwai and Uawa rivers are up to 12 metres high, Uawa usually flows at just one metre high.
Allan says that if the Hikuwai breaches the region is in for "quite a signficant period of recovery."
Civil Defence is looking to deploy a helicopter at daylight. Shelton said “it’s going to be looking pretty ugly.”
Tolaga Bay resident Tui Soutar told 1News she was relieved she did shopping earlier in the week because the town's cut off.
"We don't know when we're going to be able to get into Gisborne to the supermarkets. But we've got our supermarkets here, so hopefully they can stay open."
Tui Soutar says she expects she won’t be able to travel to Gisborne for supplies for some time. (Source: Breakfast)
She was up all night because of the conditions.
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