The coast bore the brunt of a storm which hit much of the country, manifesting in rain on the coast, gale-force winds in Wellington and the Wairarapa and strong winds through much of the North Island.
Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn said it was "beautiful'' today.
"I'm standing out on the balcony and I'm thinking to myself `I'm liking this' - the sun's coming down, there's no rain and the river's back to normal nearly,'' he told APNZ.
"On the West Coast, it's only 80km from the top of the mountains to the sea, and when the water comes down it rushes.
"So it has just rushed out (to sea) and the rivers are right down again, and we're back to normal.''
Less than 24 hours ago, the second-biggest flood in 20-odd years threatened to inundate the town.
Mr Kokshoorn credits a flood wall built in 1990, following two "massive'' floods in 1988, with saving the town yesterday.
The wall had to built because insurers would no longer cover businesses in the town. It cost $4 million to build, 80 percent of which was covered by the government.
"If we didn't have the flood wall, it would be in (yesterday),'' Mr Kokshoorn said.
"It was quite scary yesterday, the way the water levels came up.''
Blue skies are also shining in Wellington today, following yesterday's battering by wind gusts which reached up to 130kmh, forcing some flights and local ferries to be cancelled.
The wind also battered the Wairarapa, leaving a Greytown couple with broken bones after they were crushed by a large pine tree branch.
The middle-aged couple are in a satisfactory condition in Masterton's Wairarapa Hospital after undergoing surgery yesterday.
They were walking on an orchard boundary in the picturesque town when the incident happened at 11.20am.
Kuranui schoolboy William Flack, 15, was just a few metres behind the couple when the branch came down.
"I saw the man and his wife ahead and I was actually walking faster than they were, so I was catching them up when suddenly the branch came crashing down on to them,'' he said.
William ran to the man, who was struck a heavy blow but remained conscious, and handed his cellphone up to the teen to call 111.
Greytown fire chief Harry Howard said fire crews arrived to find the couple badly hurt.
"They had bumps on their heads and it looked like either broken legs or ankles.
"It really was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but they are both very lucky to be alive.''
The bough that fell was about 30cm across at its base, Mr Howard said.
