- Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Hauraki District, Whangarei and Gisborne Tai Rāwhiti have declared a precautionary state of emergency.
- Dozens of people have been evacuated after flooding in Thames Coromandel District's eastern seaboard.
- A person and their car are missing after being swept away in Warkworth, north Auckland.
- Northland and Coromandel Peninsula are both under red heavy rain warnings. An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Auckland and Great Barrier Island.
Five areas in the North Island are under precautionary state of emergencies as severe rain causes widespread flooding.
Coromandel, Whangārei, Bay of Plenty and Hauraki District are among the worst hit, with roads cut off and some people forced to evacuate their homes.
MetService has its highest level red rain warnings in place for Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne.
Meteorologist John Law said about 9pm that intense bursts of rain were continuing to skirt the northern and eastern coasts of Northland, but this would gradually improve.
However, there would still be plenty of wet weather across the North Island and into parts of the South Island overnight, before drier day later on Thursday.
In Northland, 22 homes in Oakura were being evacuated due to the risk of more landslides.
In Coromandel, dozens of people in Thames have been evacuated after flooding and State Highway 25 is closed from Coromandel to south of Whitianga.
Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell said the worst time with the heaviest rain will probably be between 10pm and midnight on Wednesday.
"[States of emergency] signal we have a severe weather event and it triggers powers to be able to move people to safety, particularly those that may not necessarily understand the predicament or danger they’re in. There are lots of good reasons to do that.
"One thing I firmly believe in, with these weather events and states of emergency, is make decisions and go early. While we’ve still got daylight hours, people should be making decisions, in terms of moving somewhere safer.
"Definitely don’t enter floodwaters, have a grab bag ready to go and keep updating yourself on the local council/civil defence websites."
Search for missing man stood down
In Warkworth, north of Auckland, police said a search for a man missing after being washed out into a river has been stood down.
The man was trying to cross a ford on the Mahurangi River in a vehicle this morning and a passenger managed to get out and raise the alarm. Police would decide whether to continue the search tomorrow.
Warkworth's chief fire officer Nick McLean said they were called to the scene shortly before 8am.
He said several raft crews had been searching the section of the river from the ford at Mansel Drive to the area around the Mahurangi Hope church. Drones were also been deployed.
About 20 people were involved in the search today, including firefighters, police officers and whitewater rafters, McLean said.
Tasman residents told to prepare for worse case scenario
At the top of the South Island, the Tasman District Council said the region may receive more rainfall than expected in coming days and residents should be prepared for the worst case scenario.
An orange rain warning is in place for Tasman, west of Mapua, from 4pm today, with up to 120 millimetres of rain expected.
The council's hydrology team said there was a high potential for change, with the chance there will be more rainfall than forecast.
The area of greatest concern is the upper to mid Motueka River which is expected to peak late on Thursday morning.
Moderate flooding in the Upper Tākaka river is possible if heavier rainfall occurs, and a precautionary pre-spill at the Cobb Dam has occurred to allow some buffer storage in the dam.
States of emergency declared
At 5pm today, Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti was the latest to declare a precautionary state of emergency, in response to forecast heavy rain and widespread flooding, joining Coromandel, Whangārei, Bay of Plenty and the Hauraki District in the North Island.
This will be in place for seven days and reviewed as required.
Thames Coromandel District Mayor Peter Revell told RNZ the eastern seaboard had been bearing the brunt of the weather event. Seventy-five people had been evacuated from flooded campgrounds, and two people had been evacuated from houses threatened with flooding.
Further south, an emergency mobile alert has been sent out across Bay of Plenty and Rotorua advising people to put their safety first and prepare to evacuate.
In Ōakura, in Northland, police and civil defence have been are going door to door asking people on some properties to leave.
A Civil Defence worker said about 22 homes were in danger of further slips from the hill above.
The Mayor of Gisborne said the district's Civil Defence and emergency services are prepared ahead of heavy rains forecast for the next 24 hours.
Up to 350mm of rain was expected to fall north of Tolaga Bay overnight, while nearly 150mm of rain was expected over Gisborne - south of Tolaga Bay - and Hawke's Bay ahead of 10am tomorrow.
Emergency management said a state of emergency declaration was made at 5pm today to give people time to move to higher ground before dark.
The worst of the rain was expected to fall overnight and anyone who feels unsafe should move. The area is under red and orange heavy rain warnings.
Mayor Rehette Stoltz said people should avoid any unnecessary travel and be ready for power cuts in the area.
"With the land already so saturated we might see landslips and roads being blocked by trees so please drive the conditions. Also make sure your devices are charged, make sure you've got some basics at home if you need to look after yourself or whanau for a day or two."
Area manager for Tolaga Bay Civil Defence Greg Shelton said if people felt unsafe - particularly those in exposed areas or near the Hikuwai River - they should leave their location ahead of nightfall.
Red heavy rain warnings
MetService earlier issued its highest level red heavy rain warnings for Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and parts of Gisborne.
Meteorologist John Law said tonight the warning for Northland would run until 11pm, with another 30mm to 50mm of rainfall forecast.
However, for areas in the Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel, there could be a further 100mm to 140mm of rain on top of what has already fallen and perhaps more so for northern Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti.
MetService said the upgraded warnings reflected a threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips.
"Conditions will disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities."
"With rain falling on to already sodden ground, widespread impacts such as significant flooding, slips, dangerous river conditions, and hazardous road conditions and travel disruptions are likely. These can lead to areas being cut off, as well as danger to life."
"A red warning signifies that people need to act now as immediate action is required to protect people, animals and property from the impact of the weather. People should also be prepared to follow the advice of official authorities and emergency services."
Orange heavy rain warnings
Elsewhere, orange heavy rain warnings remain in place for Tasman, Auckland and parts of Gisborne; heavy rain watches have been issued for Waikato, Waitomo, Taupō, Nelson, Buller and Grey Districts and Canterbury; and strong wind watches are in place for Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel Peninsula, Waitomo and Taupō.
Auckland Emergency Management warned people in Auckland and Great Barrier Island to be vigilant, as heavy bursts of rain were expected tonight.
It advised those in places prone to flooding, slips, or power outages to have a supply of food just in case. It warned people to drive carefully, especially in rural areas, with surface flooding likely overnight.
The strong winds forecast for today and Thursday might also mean lanes on Auckland's Harbour Bridge are closed.
'Stay off roads'
Flooding cut off highway access to the Coromandel town of Whitianga this morning, and there were many slips and local road closures in the area.
Tow truck drivers were having to pull cars out of water. On the road between Whitianga and Tairua, Chris Morgan from Custom Towing told RNZ he had pulled one car out - and had three more to remove from flood-hit areas.
Morgan said some people were misjudging the depth of the water and not understanding how strong the current was.
"It is a lot more worse than people realise. Yeah, it would be better if people stay home and stay off the road."
Northland area hit very hard
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said earlier today he was most worried about Northland and Ōakura and the surrounding areas as "they're basically fully saturated in terms of the ground... and we've got more coming".
He said the areas had been hit "very hard, lots of slips", and contractors were working to open roads and get access for people.
Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management group controller Jenny Calder said they were expecting severe downpours in the region and through the early hours of Thursday.
She said they were most worried about the east coast which was hit on Sunday by heavy downpours - "it's eastern areas that we are still quite concerned with".
Northland had all agencies prepared, she said. "Fire and Emergency, police, St John - everyone is all ready to go".
- RNZ/Allied Media
