Some residents in Lower Hutt have been urged to evacuate this morning as the Waiwhetū Stream rose rapidly, with a deep low east of the North Island bringing heavy rain and severe gales to large parts of the country.
MetService has issued a heavy rain and strong wind warning for the Hutt Valley until 7pm on Monday, with downpours on the eastern hills and southerly gales expected to gust up to 120km/h.
Hutt City Council advised residents on Heather Grove and parts of Riverside Dr to leave their homes.
"Our teams are in the area and door knocking. However, do not wait for someone to knock on your door. If you can see water rising, feel unsafe, or are concerned - leave now and move to higher ground."
Emergency controller John Kingsbury told RNZ the the Waiwhetū Stream hasn't reached a level of forced evacuations yet.
"It's not at the point where we believe we need to go in and take people out of their homes, at that stage. So we're not quite - we're not at that point yet - should that happen then we will absolutely make that call."
Follow 1News live updates on the wild weather here.
The council also said "severe gridlock" was blocking the emergency response, asking people not to travel unless they absolutely had to.
"Emergency services, Wellington Electricity crews and response teams cannot get through to affected areas. Every non essential vehicle on the road is delaying help to people who need it," it said in a post.
"You are stopping fixes from happening. If you are already on the road and it is safe to do so, please turn back."
Police also urged motorists in the greater Wellington area, particularly in the Hutt Valley, to stay off the roads where possible.
"If you must travel, please slow down and be prepared for surface flooding or obstructions on the road," a police spokesperson said.
One man carried his wife and kids to safety in the suburb of Waiwhetū after floodwaters surrounded their home.
He told 1News the water level was getting very close to entering the house and was up to his knees as he piggybacked his partner and two children out of the house in separate trips.
"This area is really low, and it's always been like that, but this is like the highest in 30 or 40 years," he said.
"I've rescued my wife and both of my kids and my food truck, but hope the water doesn't get into the house anytime soon."
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