Locals in the Manawatū town of Dannevirke watched wide-eyed, as a massive pile of dead wood forced a rural bridge, and the road it supported, down the Manawatū River this afternoon.
The area, which is in the Tararua District, is already under a state of emergency.
A local resident told 1News he had been “keeping an eye” on the river, which had risen two-to-three metres overnight.
He said he went down just after lunch today and was just in time to see the bridge pushed over by a mound of debris forced against the bridge by flooding.
The bridge over the Waikari River connecting Napier and Wairoa has nearly been completely washed away. (Source: 1News)
"When I got down to the river, my neighbour was there and we noticed a bit of a bow in the bridge and while we were standing there and it started to creak and moan and then it went."
Despite the destruction, he said it was "quite spectacular to watch".
He said there were two farms on either side of the bridge and one household has now effectively been "cut off".
Meanwhile, further north near Hastings, Brookfield Bridge over the Tūtaekurī River collapsed as floodwaters rose earlier today.
Footage shows the surging river pushing a section of the one-way bridge near Pakowhai, into the water.
Six bridges in Hastings and Napier - including the Esk River Bridge, Waiohiki Bridge, Puketapu Bridge, Fernhill Bridge, Rissington Bridge and Brookfield Bridge - are impassable.
"There are likely to be more bridges affected and not all of the region has yet been surveyed," Hawke's Bay Civil Defence said.
Napier and Hastings are cut off after rising rivers burst their banks this morning.
Footage shows State Highway 51 can be seen awash with a sea of muddy water.
Napier and Hastings have been cut off after nearby rivers breached their stopbanks. (Source: 1News)
It comes after Napier City and Hastings District declared a local state of emergency early this morning.
Residents in Omahu and Taradale were forced to evacuate after the Tutaekuri River and Ngaruroro River breached its stopbanks, Hawke's Bay Civil Defence said.
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