A firefighter smashed the back window of a partly submerged car to rescue a stranded woman during Saturday night's floods.
Buddy Harwood was driving on Waihi Beach Rd about 10.30pm when he came across the partly submerged car.
"There were four cars lined up and there was a heavy flow of water. I didn't see the car at first but then we drove up a bit closer and it looked like someone had abandoned it. I talked to one of the people from the other cars and asked them if there was someone in there, and they said yes, there was," the Athenree firefighter told the Bay of Plenty Times.
Mr Harwood, who had just filled his car with petrol after multiple fire callouts, said he looked again and saw the woman trying to get out through the passenger door.
"She was trying to hop out the passenger side - if she had hopped out she would have been swept away and killed. I was yelling at her to stop. I ran over and banged on the window, the water was above my knees, half way up the side of the car, and there was a heavy current coming down the hill.