Coromandel escapes heavy rain, but Auckland hit

The heavy rain forecast for the Coromandel Peninsula has failed to materialise.

Auckland City, however, did suffer from downpours.

The Fire Service has been busy attending to dozens of weather-related calls in the city, mostly for flooded homes that need water pumped out.

A spokesman said the Fire Service had attended a large number of calls but they were all fairly minor.

He said the calls were mostly isolated to Westmere and Ponsonby, and through Mt Albert and Mt Eden.

Rodney District Council spokesman Mike Isle said there was some surface flooding in the Red Beach area of Whangaparaoa last night, but nothing serious.

"Our stormwater guys were on to it pretty quickly." He understood there had been no houses evacuated.

Further south on the east coast there was heavy rain, with reports that Hicks Bay recorded 44mm.

But a spokesman for the Gisborne District Council said there had been no reports of problems other than a bit of debris on some roads.

MetService predicted the Coromandel, which is already sodden from last week's storms, could receive up to 120mm of rain last night.

But Thames Coromandel District Council spokesman Peter Hazael said the bad weather moved down the coast and out to sea. He said the region received only a few showers and residents are relieved.

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA