A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the Bay of Plenty and police are warning motorists to stay off the roads unless travel is essential.
The news comes as a resident living near the Wairoa River just outside of Tauranga says they are facing rising floodwaters due to the heavy rain.
Trevor Wilkinson overlooks the river from Echo Valley Way at Tauriko.
He said his bottom paddock was a bit saturated before he went to bed last night but when he opened the curtains this morning ‘’it looks like a marina”.”
’’Wilkinson said overnight the rainfall went from heavy showers to torrential rain and it just got worse.
’’This shows you the force of nature.’’
The Wairoa River in Tauranga has burst its banks. Photo / Supplied
He estimated at its peak the river was two metres above the flood line. But there did not appear to be an immediate danger to houses because they were all above the flood line.
The level had dropped slightly as the tide went out but Wilkinson said high tide was due at 1pm, he said.
’’If this rain continues it could rise another four feet (1.2m) and we’ll be back to where we were. I’ve got a little barn that is under two metres of water.’’
Lucy Penellum said she was heading to McLaren Falls this morning when a slip happened alongside SH 2 at 8.30am.
A slip on SH2. Photo / Supplied
‘’The rain was very heavy at times. It wasn’t too scary but on the way back at about 10.30am through Bethlehem was mayhem.
‘’The cars were backed up for miles and the roundabout was at a standstill.’’
McLaren Falls this morning. Photo / Supplied
She said McLaren Falls was raging.
Waipuna Hospice chief executive Richard Thurlow said in a Facebook post this afternoon it had ‘‘taken the decision to evacuate patients to a partner Age Care Facility [thank you Althorpe!] Because access to site along Te Puna Station Road was getting very poor.’'
‘‘Just letting you know that Waipuna Hospice is ok Buildings are above flood level at present. All staff are safe and continuing to provide care to patients in the community. We will be posting updates as we learn more about the developing situation.’'
‘‘Thank you for all for your offers for help and assistance.’'
Please stay safe out there, he said.
Bay of Plenty police said the rain affecting northern regions was now spreading across Bay of Plenty, causing multiple slips and bringing down several large trees.
’’Roads are blocked and there is already widespread flooding, which is expected to worsen over the course of the day.
’’SH2 was closed at Maniatutu with diversions in place, while a landslide is partially blocking SH 29 at Omanawa.”
MetService said there was a possibility of thunderstorms about Bay of Plenty and Taupo today and tomorrow.
Between early afternoon today and 7am Sunday, one or two of these thunderstorms may become severe, producing localised downpours with intensities of 25mm to 40 mm per hour.
‘‘Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips. Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.”
Until midnight tonight, another 70mm to 100mm of rain about the ranges, and lesser amounts nearer the coast were expected.
Earlier this morning the One Love music festival was cancelled.
A post on the festival organisers’ Facebook page stated the rough weather last night and this morning had caused chaos.
“From site flooding to high winds, to artists being stuck in Auckland, thunderstorms predicted and heavy rain tomorrow as well, we are unable to safely and logistically deliver One Love 2023.
‘’This, along with the state of emergency that was declared for Auckland last night has to be taken into account when considering your safety, along with the safety of our artists and crew. A total of 40 per cent of our ticketholders are from Auckland.’’
Severe weather has also caused a slip that closed the road on SH29 between Poripori Rd and Omanawa Rd.
The Tauranga City Council said in a written statement that contractors were on the scene providing traffic management.
‘’The whole bank has now fallen down and blocking lanes, contractors are trying to organise detours.”
In Auckland, two people have died and two are missing after raging floodwaters and slips caused by an unprecedented deluge of rain. A state of emergency was declared across the region, with Auckland Airport closed overnight and State Highway 1 closed or restricted in eight areas.
Auckland Airport reopened at 12pm today for domestic flights only.
There is also widespread damage to homes, with many residents evacuated. Several homes in Hillsborough and Northcote Point, on Auckland’s North Shore, have been left teetering on cliffs after dramatic landslides.
More heavy rain is falling in Auckland today, as residents survey damage to their homes and streets. Officials briefly opened the new Puhoi motorway north of Auckland last night to rescue stranded motorists.
MetService said a record amount of rain had fallen on Auckland in 24 hours - by 1am, the region had recorded 249mm of rain, smashing the February 1985 24-hour record of 161.8mm.
And monthly records have also been broken - the wettest January recorded at the Auckland Airport weather station until now was in 1986 with 20cm and the wettest month ever was July 1998 with 30cm.
So far this month 32cm of rain has been recorded - a “massive” amount, MetService said.
