Body found in Onewhero in search for man missing in floodwaters

The body of a man swept away in floodwaters in Onewhero on Friday has been found.

Police said a drone operator discovered the body of the man 1km away from where he went missing in Onewhero, which is south west of Mercer.

Police say they have been overwhelmed by the way the rural Waikato community has rallied around and gone above and beyond to assist with the search.

Locals have offered their time and effort, food, and support to others around them at this extremely difficult time.

Waikato District Mayor Jacqui Church expressed her “heartfelt condolences” to the family of a man whose body was located in Onewhero today.

In a later statement to the Herald, she said: “I am aware of who the grieving family is, and know some members of this well-respected family personally.

“In our tight-knit rural north Waikato we pull together in times of need. We are always there to help people, including their need for privacy, their need for support and their needs in grieving.”

Church said her personal community focus and the council’s role was to support its residents and empower their resilience and wellbeing.

“We are all truly gutted and saddened when one of our own dies, particularly so tragically. It is our collective loss, so we do what we can for the whanau while we send our sincere and very heartfelt condolences to the family,” she said.

“Also I am very grateful to the emergency responders, and particularly our wonderful local north Waikato rural communities and people for their absolute commitment to support the family, farmer and search that has found him for his family.”

Four people have now died during the North Island’s severe weather event since Friday.

Daniel Mark Miller, 34, of Wairau Valley, has been identified as a victim of the flooding event.

He was found in a culvert on Target Rd in Wairau Valley on Friday.

Miller was filming himself going door-to-door and checking on residents in the area before his death.

A “significant” northeasterly rain and gale system is coming in from the north in coming days and there’s potential for more slips and flooding.

Tomorrow will be a brief reprieve for Aucklanders to clean up, assess damage and clear gutters and drains in preparation for another major weather event arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday, Metservice’s Georgina Griffiths said in an Auckland Emergency Management briefing.

Griffiths said the timing for this weather event is not yet firm and more details will be available in the coming hours.

Auckland Emergency Management Controller Rachel Kelleher said 19 homes across the region have been red-stickered.

This number is only the tip of the iceberg, with more than 5000 properties across 25 suburbs needing some level of assessment. A hundred and thirty assessors are on the ground between Wellsford and Pukekohe.