Flooding on State Highway 10 north of Kaeo Photo / David Fisher
Flooding on State Highway 10 north of Kaeo Photo / David Fisher
Rain is expected to ease across Northland after heavy rainfall caused surface flooding, power cuts and multiple school closures.
MetService meteorologist David Miller said showers were expected today after yesterday's downpour.
"It's not going to be a dry day, but it's not going to be as wet - more showery. Wednesday's not looking too bad but we might still see a shower or two."
An unsettled westerly flow would continue to affect Northland over the next few days, Miller added.
The next dry day was not expected for most of the region until Saturday, with showers and rain on the cards for the rest of the week.
Fire crew clear a tree off Whangārei Heads Road yesterday afternoon Photo / Tania Whyte
There was 114mm of rain in Kerikeri overnight on Sunday and 90-110mm on most of Northland's east coast.
Kerikeri had already received more than 300mm of rain this month, taking its total monthly rainfall to more than twice the July average of 188.8mm.
A heavy rain warning and strong wind warning for Northland were lifted last night. MetService warned motorists about surface flooding and hazardous driving conditions.
The banks of the Kāeo River overflowing. Photo / Supplied
There was surface flooding on a number of roads, including SH10 at Kāeo and several local roads in the Whangārei district.
Whananaki North Rd was impassable due to flooding, and a number of others were affected by fallen trees, slips and surface flooding.
A Northland Regional Council camera showed the river near Kaeo had burst its banks.
A number of schools throughout Northland closed yesterday due to adverse weather conditions.
Rain for 24 hours and high tide combined to put parts of Kaeo under water. SH10 north of the town had almost a metre of water across the road in places. Photo / David Fisher
Kāeo Primary School principal Paul Barker said the decision was made to close the school after it was deemed unsafe for the buses to travel in the weather.
"If the buses can't travel, the kids can't get here. So, we are closed.
"Everybody ringing me today is telling me it is impassable up by the new bridge and Maunu Road, where a majority of our kids live. We just have to wait and see what's happening today.
"It is just not worth hopping onto the bus when you are not sure that everyone is safe."
Barker said the school had not yet had any power outages.
Pamapuria School, however, was closed due to a power outage. Peria School was closed due to flooding and "unsafe weather conditions", it posted on social media.
Whangārei Town Basin after a night of heavy rain. Photo / Tania Whyte
Students from Whangaroa College, Totara North School, Kura Kaupapa Māori at Matauri Bay, among other schools, also had a rain-induced holiday.
Frank Stuart of Stuart's school bus service provider in Kāeo said people in the area were used to flooding and it was just one of those things that happened.
"We decided to cancel the service as the water levels were still up [yesterday] morning."
There were a number of power outages in the Far North, including in Peria, Paihia, Haruru, Coopers Beach, Mitimiti and Waimamaku. These outages affected around 2500 customers.
Several smaller outages were reported in the Whangārei and Kaipara districts, but most were resolved by early afternoon.
