- A State of Emergency declared at 1am in Ōtorohanga, in the King Country, where people have been forced to evacuate by rising floodwaters, and buildings have been flooded. It will remain in effect for 7 days.
- The body of a man has been found in a submerged car at Puketotara on SH39, police say
- Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Waikato, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/ Tai Rāwhiti, Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay, Taupō, Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti, inland Whanganui and Manawatū and Taihape.
An Ōtorohanga resident has described his dramatic and unexpected rescue early this morning, after he awoke to find himself waist-deep in floodwater.
A state of emergency was declared by Mayor Rodney Dow in the district at 1am today. Between 150 and 300mm fell in just one hour in the area overnight on Friday, inundating properties and causing the evacuation of 80 people.
He said there had been reports of flooding, slips and inundation. He said he had lived in the district his whole life and had never seen so much rainfall.
"The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious, and with nightfall upon us, it's important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed."
Meanwhile, police are calling on motorists in the Waikato region to stay off the roads in areas affected by floods and wild weather, and if driving is necessary to exercise extreme caution and not try to drive through flooded roads. The warning comes after a man was found dead in a submerged car on State Highway 39 at Puketotara.
Kio Kio Station Rd resident Colin Payne said waters close to three metres high had come through his Ōtorohanga property in the King Country overnight. The octogenarian had woken about 4.30am to find his bedroom sodden.
"That had come in at, well, when I went to bed about 10 last night, it wasn't even up to my barn - but it must have come up over the last four hours, four to five hours after that.
"I have an American barn and then attached to the American barn is a cottage and that is another metre higher... So the actual increase in the water from the road to the top is approximately two-and-a-half to three metres."
"Well, I must admit I was floundering for a few minutes until I found a torch because the power was off, and I then rang one of my neighbours and she thought I was away, so she hadn't done anything, genuinely. And then I found out that they'd been rescuing people for a good hour or so."
Like many of his neighbours, he was rescued soon after, using a boat that had been brought from Rotorua, and wading barefoot through water.
"They had to come around the front of my property and we had to remove a very large polythene screen so that we could get in and they brought the boat right onto the deck and then two or three of them helped me into it."
The only thing Payne managed to take with him was his medication - everything else in his home was likely a write-off, he believed.
"Totally and utterly devastated. It was more than wet. There was two big fridges, freezers rather, just floating. My TVs are all floating and the annoying part about it is I couldn't reach it, but as I opened the door, my wallet floated past with all my credit cards and my driver's licence and everything in it. So I hope the cops will be understanding if I get pulled up for a ticket."
That was unlikely, as his large campervan had been "totally submerged".
Kio Kio Station Rd was about 3 to 4km long and had a number of lifestyle properties dotted along it, Payne said, estimating about 250 people would have needed rescuing.
"I would say some of them have even been worse than my place, and believe me, I'm pretty bad at my place, but I would say everybody else has suffered as badly as what I have."
"There's little wee babies that have been hugging into their mums, there's four families with young children right next door to me, and they've all been rescued. And I've spoken to quite a few of the others up and down and everybody's feeling the same as what I am, you know, pretty devastated by what's occurred. And you know, it is devastating and you can't do a damn thing about it."
The deluge of rain was continuing today.
"The thunder and lightning is still occurring, but the rain is, it's very, very heavy and I don't think we're going to see any let up for two or three hours, maybe even longer. But yes, it's torrential rain and it's just about continuous torrential rain."
Payne is no stranger to flooding, having been a jet boat rescuer himself in the 1960s and 70s, and he commended those working overnight.
But now that the shock was wearing off, the last few hours were beginning to take a toll.
Meanwhile, a group of campers were evacuated from a campground amid the flooding, slips and heavy rain in Ōtorohanga.
Joy Wickham told RNZ she was with a group of NZ Motor Home Association members who parked for the night at Ōtorohanga College last night. The school is next to a river, and the waters rose up and into the school grounds, prompting the evacuation, Wickham said.
Man dies in floodwaters
A man died after his vehicle became submerged in floodwaters while travelling on State Highway 39 last night. A member of the public alerted emergency services about 9.15pm.
The car was submerged near the intersection of SH39 and Kiwi Rd at Puketotara, and the man was found deceased inside the vehicle, police said. The highway remained closed.
Ōtorohanga Mayor Rodney Dow told media the community was grieving following the news of the death.
"It is with deepest sadness that I, alongside my community, acknowledge the tragic loss of life within the Ōtorohanga district during last night's extreme weather event."
He said police had notified the man's next of kin, and the council was working with authorities to support the whānau.
"This is devastating news for our community. Right now, our focus is on supporting those affected by the widespread flooding as well as the emergency workers and support agencies who are also helping."
Multiple roads closed
Heavy rain warnings and watches are in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue throughout the day.
Multiple roads remain closed after significant flooding and slips.
Flooding in Waikato has closed State Highway 39 between Pirongia and Ōtorohanga. A detour is available via SH3.
Whirinaki Valley Rd in Horohoro (SH30) is open under stop/go traffic management following a slip, but the New Zealand Transport Agency warns the road could close at short notice if weather conditions changed.
Towards Tai Rāwhiti, other roads remained closed following earlier storms.
SH2 Waioweka Gorge is closed between Ōpōtiki to Mātāwai due to slips and flooding.
SH35 is shut between Pōtaka and Te Araroa while it's being repaired, while the stretch between Whakaangiangi Rd and Te Araroa is also closed for the weekend because of the adverse weather forecast.
