People living near Rotorua's Ngongotahā Stream have been urged to prepare to evacuate as wild weather continues to batter parts of the country.
It comes as heavy flooding inundated parts of Mount Maunganui on Monday afternoon, with up to 135mm of rainfall accumulating in the past 12 hours.
"We are not expecting any evacuations to be necessary at this stage, but will continue to carefully monitor the situation," the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Rotorua Lakes Council said on social media on Monday afternoon.
"It would be sensible for residents to prepare to evacuate just in case."
READ MORE: Watch: Motorists struggle through Mount Maunganui flooding
The councils said rain is "expected to continue to be heavy at times this evening across the region, with possible thunderstorms".
Motorists have been reminded that driving conditions will be hazardous, with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.
The most up to date weather information can be found on the MetService website.
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