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Heavy rain, slips and flooding cut off most of the Coromandel yesterday but the bad weather is expected to lighten today.
The region was yesterday in mop-up mode as Tuesday night's heavy rain closed roads, turned green paddocks into lakes and forced hundreds of primary and high school students to spend the day at home.
MetService forecaster Richard Finnie said some parts of the Coromandel had copped nearly half a metre of rain since Saturday with the Karangahake Gorge recording 265mm between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Among those worst affected was 70-year-old Sam Hare, whose home about 5km south of Tairua was surrounded by floodwaters more than 2m deep in places after the Tairua River burst its banks.
The predictions were for more foul weather but Mr Hare told the Herald he wasn't concerned - despite his home being in the way of floods at least half a dozen times before.
"I just went to bed and had a good night's sleep," he said.
Mr Hare's home is elevated on a man-made mound and about 100m from the swollen river overlooking his 50-acre (20.2ha) farm, which yesterday was completely submerged.
But Mr Hare said he and his wife had "absolutely no worries". "The fire's stoked, the TV's on, we've got food in the cupboard and we've got a boat tied up to the tree so there's no real worry."
Whitianga farmer Rob Christensen agreed with Mr Hare that the 146mm of rain that swallowed large parts of his 70-acre (28.3ha) block on Tuesday night was "bad but not that bad".
"You should have seen bloody Cyclone Bola [in 1988], that was terrible. There was crap everywhere and it took ages to clean up," he said.
"The soil can't take any more, it's saturated, so you're going to get these floods ... it doesn't help when the council doesn't clean out the rivers."
Meanwhile, State Highway 25 from Thames to Coromandel and Whangapoua opened yesterday after flooding and slips halted travel.
But Senior Constable John Morrissey of Coromandel police advised drivers to take "extreme caution" with slips and debris when travelling.
"People can drive through here with care ... lots of care," he said.
A huge slip between Kuaotunu and Whitianga on SH25 was expected to be cleared last night.
SH25 south from Whitianga to Tairua is now open but access to Tairua from Hikuai at Bennett's Hole - where floodwaters are at their worst in years - is likely to be some time away.
Senior Constable Arama Chase of Tairua police said floodwaters - up to 1.5m in places - were fast flowing and advised "any heroes in four-wheel-drives" not to take their chances.
MetService said showers were expected in the region today with northwesterlies gusting up to 80km/h in exposed places.
