Northland's July 2020 flood in photos

Isabella Ngawati evacuates her Otiria Rd home with six-month-old son Elijah and partner Mark Watene while Gwen Ngawati opts to stay behind. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Weather experts called it a one-in-500 year rainfall event.

It arrived on the back of the worst drought in decades, flooding highways, service stations and homes, cutting off the Far North, turning farmland into lakes, sinking boats and damaging hundreds of roads. One highway, SH1 through the Mangamukas, is likely to remain closed for weeks.

Our photographers, reporters and readers were out there in the storm capturing the chaos. These are just a few of their images.

Photos by Michael Cunningham, Tania Whyte, Peter de Graaf, Rachel Ward, Paul Shaw, Jaan Tipene, NZTA, FENZ, Linda Ponsonby, Dot Jones, Peter Kerr, Kara Gordon and Lee Gamble.

Hamish Macbeth and son Harrison, 6, of Auckland, grab a selfie at rain-swollen Haruru Falls during a family holiday in Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Local resident Andy Greager captures Haruru Falls in flood, on the Waitangi River near Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A ute negotiates a flooded Waimate North Rd. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A whirlpool forms in a Waimate North paddock as floodwater is sucked through a culvert. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Picnic anyone? Floodwaters rise at Kaikohe's Rawiri Taiwhanga Park. Two hours later the picnic table was entirely submerged. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Flood-hit Pembroke St resident Skip Kidwell talks to Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare and Moerewa community leader Pamela-Anne Ngohe-Simon. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Skip Kidwell surveys the flooding around his home, the worst-hit property on the worst-hit street in Moerewa. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The flooded Waiharakeke Stream just downstream of the Pokapu Rd bridge. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Far North District councillor Kelly Stratford discusses a flood mitigation plan with Ngati Hine leader Pita Tipene at the Pokapu Rd bridge over the Waiharakeke Stream. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Otiria Rugby Club captain Hone Townsend at the flood-damaged clubrooms. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare with, from left, Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime, acting Far North Civil Defence controller Alastair Wells and Otiria Marae chairman Mike Butler. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Vehicles cross the Otiria Stream bridge at the bottom of Turntable Hill on State Highway 1, Moerewa, as floodwaters recede on Saturday evening. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Floodwaters stream through the grounds of Otiria Marae on the outskirts of Moerewa. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Floodwaters stream through the grounds of Otiria Marae on the outskirts of Moerewa. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Esther Owen and family head to their home on flooded Kingi Rd, near Moerewa, to see if it's still above water. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Somewhere under the floodwaters is Otiria Rd, west of Moerewa. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A home is surrounded by floodwaters on Otiria Rd, near Moerewa. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Isabella Ngawati evacuates her Otiria Rd home with six-month-old son Elijah and partner Mark Watene while Gwen Ngawati opts to stay behind. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Isabella Ngawati evacuates her Otiria Rd home with baby Elijah, six months, while Gwen Ngawati stays behind. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Kaikohe rural fire volunteer Hamish Lewis, left, and Kawakawa police iwi liaison officer Roger Dephoff help twowomen to safety after five hours in the flooded Otiria Stream. Photo / supplied

The damage at Whangarei's Quarry Gardens could take months to repair. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Cleaning up at Whangārei's Quarry Gardens, from left, Mike Morresey, Kayla Franks and Stuart Peterson. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Pumps at BP on Riverside Dr are still off-limits after floodwater inundated the forecourt. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Neil McLeod, of Neil McLeod Upholstery on Kaka St, was among dozens of businesses owners around Whangārei cleaning up after the flood. Photograph by Michael Cunningham

Insignia Signs owner Kyn Darrah cleans up after flooding at Kaka St, Whangārei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Whangārei Hospice Store retail manager Kathy McMillan dries out the store with the help of large fans. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A second salvage attempt for a storm-damaged launch gets underway on Monday afternoon at Paihia. Photo / Tania Whyte

Staff at Mitre 10 in Whangārei clean up after the deluge. Photo / supplied

Waiharakeke Stream bridge, near Otiria on the Twin Coast Cycleway, where the water was 1.4m deep on the downstream side of bridge. Photo / Peter Kerr

A swollen Kerikeri River races past two of New Zealand's oldest buildings, Kemp House and the Stone Store. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Kerikeri's Rainbow Falls in flood. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Traffic chaos on SH1, near the flooded Otiria Stream bridge in Moerewa, wasn't helped by motorists bypassing the 2km-long queue by driving on the wrong side of the road. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A motorist checks out the depth of a washout on Oromahoe Rd before opting to try a different route. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A submerged campground at Haruru Falls. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A slip blocks SH1 through Mangamuka Gorge. Photo / NZTA

A slip on State Highway 1 in the Mangamuka Gorge. Photo / Kara Gordon

The Three Bridges at Kawakawa as seen from the air. Photo / Jaan Tipene

Flooding across Whangārei Heads Rd at Waikaraka. Photo / Rachel Ward

Whangārei's Town Basin is turned brown by flooding. Photo / Paul Shaw

Whangārei Falls from above. Photo / Paul Shaw

Flooding near Whangārei. Photo / Paul Shaw

Kissing Pt, on Riverside Dr, Whangārei, from above. Photo / Paul Shaw

A waterspout off Russell's Long Beach. Photo / Linda Ponsonby

A large under-slip has undermined State Highway 1 in the Mangamuka Ranges south of Kaitaia. Photo / NZTA

A Fonterra milk tanker drives through a flooded Jordan Valley Rd in Hikurangi. Photo / Paul Shaw

State Highway 1 over the Mangamukas has been reduced to a clay track in places. Photo / Dot Jones

Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones checks some of the slumping along SH1. Photo / Dot Jones