"Oh my God, I'm being swept away. Come and get me." This was the last thing a Wellington mother heard from her son, stuck in raging floodwaters in Toowoomba, before his phone cut out.
Kay McKenna-Brock said her son, Dean, had just left work when his car was hit by floodwater.
"He rang in a panic and said 'I'm stuck. The water's coming towards me; the car's floating'," she said.
Mr Brock (32) begged his mother, who lives in Withcott, near Toowoomba, to "come and get me" before his phone cut out.
"There wasn't much we could do.
"All I thought of was how to get to him and how to get him help. We've got to go and save him. But we weren't allowed out."
Mrs McKenna-Brock was thinking the worst when she called emergency services, desperate to get her son help.
"We thought he was dead. I felt helpless ... When you're a mother you're supposed to look after your children. We could only pray. We tried to stay positive."
She does not know what happened to her son after that, but she was later told he had been rescued and was staying with friends.
His partner and 4-year-old son Jamason are in Toowoomba, also out of contact.
"All I know is he's safe now. Oh my God, that was the best news. I'm so happy we've still got him, that he's still with us. That's all that matters."
An Auckland couple are anxiously awaiting news of their daughter and grandsons, who are marooned in Murphys Creek.
George and Maureen Whitehead have not heard from daughter Susan, who lives in the area with her sons, Aiden (19) and Kyle (17).
Murphy's Creek was one of the worst-hit areas and police held "grave" concerns for the community there, saying they expected to find more bodies as the water levels dropped.
Ms Whitehead's colleague, Rudy Coombs, said she called him to say she was OK and at her home with her boys.
But her parents have been unable to reach her and are worried sick.
"We got a phone call saying there were eight people dead in Murphys Creek and we just panicked. We were paralysed," Mrs Whitehead said.
"We tried to call her but we couldn't get through."
The couple spent about three hours trying to find out whether their family was safe before contacting Ms Whitehead's boss, who assured them she was OK.
But they will not rest easy until they have spoken to her.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said there were no reports so far of any injured or missing New Zealanders.
Anyone with concerns for any New Zealanders in the flood-affected areas should try to make direct contact with them.
If unable to confirm their wellbeing, call MFAT on 04 439-8000.
- Anna Leask
