KEY POINTS:
The death toll from today's violent storm looks set to rise with police calling off their search for a man missing in the Bay of Islands.
Earlier in the day, a woman in her mid 40s, thought to be the man's partner, drowned in Kawakawa's Waikare River.
Further south residents of up to 14 houses, threatened by a major slip
in the North Shore suburb of Torbay, face an anxious night to see whether they will be able to return to their properties.
One home has already been severely damaged.
A Northern Fire Communications spokesman said the decision to evacuate the homes had been made quickly after an assessment by the North Shore Council, civil defence and emergency services.
The slip was about 4000 to 5000 square metres in area, he said.
Police were trying to contact the home owners, many of whom were not at home, to prepare them for the shock of the news.
* Woman dead, man missing
* BOP houses hit by tornado
* Kids trapped in Elsthorpe School
* SH25 south of Whitianga flooded
* Power outage in Levin
* Slip closes SH57 near Levin
* SH1 at Dome Valley reopens
The North Island's second storm in less than a week has caused havoc for motorists, with slips and flooding closing many roads and police warning against unnecessary travel.
In the Bay of Plenty, a tornado ripped through several streets, lifting roof tiles and smashing windows about 9am, but there are no reports of injuries at this stage, police said.
Papamoa resident Brian Gardyne said he heard a small tornado go around his house.
He said: "There wasn't much damage but our poor dog in his kennel was a bit shocked it ripped up his roof."
An hour later the wind had abated and the sun was shining weakly as firefighters placed tarpaulins on the damaged roofs, said Senior Sergeant Tania Kura from the Mt Maunganui police.
"You wouldn't believe it now but it is light drizzle and it is quite sunny," she said.
She said the tornado did not leave a swathe of destruction but several houses next to each other were damaged.
"The fire guys are up on the roofs, putting tarps up to cover it in the meantime.
"At the moment it is quite calm and everybody is able to get on with doing their job.
"They are able to get and secure stuff because there is no risk around that."
Warnings
Elsewhere, fallen trees, slips and flooding were blocking many roads.
Click here for Transit's list of road closures
A group of school children have been trapped at a Hawke's Bay school after the storm sweeping the country knocked over a tree, bringing down powerlines and cutting off the school's only road.
Elsthorpe School Principal Katherine Rowe said the road became blocked about 11.30am.
"There's only one road to the school and while there is some surface flooding the tree and powerlines have made it impossible to get out."
Police have advised motorists in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel and Manawatu to drive cautiously and not to travel unless they have to.
Many of the hazards were not obvious and speeds needed to be reduced to avoid accidents, police said.
Radio Network weather analyst Philip Duncan said the storm was not intense as Saturday's cyclone but was much larger - covering an area "as large as the Tasman Sea".
"The main front is starting to clear Northland but has still got a few more hours left of persistent heavy rain for Auckland, Paeroa, Whitianga and Tauranga," he said.
Torrential rain from the storm had this morning moved onto the East Cape.
"North of Gisborne we have rain currently falling at around 22mm an hour which is extremely heavy," Mr Duncan said.
"Surface flooding and more widespread flooding is expected across the North Island this morning from Auckland to Gisborne and in between".
Mr Duncan warned a second band of rain would return to Northland later this morning, and could cause flash and surface flooding on already saturated ground
Roads
Auckland police said an increasing number of roads would have to be closed in the North Shore and Rodney areas as the heavy rain continued.
Drivers who had to go out should take extreme care, said Inspector Matt Sillars from the police northern communications centre in Auckland.
"Some of these idiots drive straight through a flooded part of the road and think it is huge fun, but all they do is flood cars and suddenly we have got blockages and it creates other problems for us," he said.
Drivers should slow down and not speed into flooding, even minor flooding, in case the road had been damaged, he said.
Motorists in the Far North were told to be cautious of power lines and trees falling onto the road.
A slip had closed Mangakahia Road at Twin Bridges, the district council said.
State Highway 16 reopened this morning after overnight flooding but a huge slip on State Highway 1 north of Warkworth meant access to Northland remained limited.
Police said the highway at Dome Valley has reopened after a large slip, which was several feet high.
There was also a large slip on SH1, 2km north of the Dargaville turnoff, and a truck was stuck in mud.
Another slip was partially blocking SH1 at Pohuehue viaduct south of Warkworth. However traffic was still flowing.
All lanes of Oteha Valley Road were flooded on the eastern side of the motorway but the road was passable, police said.
As a result of flooding and slips, Karangahake Gorge SH2 between Paeroa and Waihi had flooded and would be closed until further notice, while Pauanui and Tairua were cut off.
Juliet Rowan at the scene said the river was a "large brown torrent" and waterfalls could be seen falling over paddocks in the area.
There were many slips in the gorge itself. A works Infrastructure spokeswoman said the water may be receding.
Philip Duncan said 310mm of rain had been recorded near the gorge in the past 24 hours.
SH25 south of Whitianga was flooded with water one metre deep and unpassable.
Kaihikatea Road Dairy Flat was flooded and unlikely to be driveable.
Woodcocks Road, Warkworth was flooded near to the Helensville end and slips had resulted.
Palmerston North police said an accident involving a truck and trailer had blocked SH57 near Tokomaru.
They warned there were very strong wind gusts in the area and extreme caution was required by any high sided vehicles.
A slip has also closed SH57 near Levin, between Shannon and Opiki.
In the South Island, police this afternoon reported surface flooding between Blenheim and Kaikoura and advised motorists to take extreme care.
Front moves south
The wild weather had local authorities and emergency workers on red alert across the top of the North Island with residents being advised to stay indoors and stock up on food, water and batteries.
Farmers were urged to move stock to higher ground as rivers and streams overflowed their banks.
However, a Northland Regional Council spokesman said rain in Northland had fallen over much longer period than originally expected and the region had a lucky escape.
"In the end, we had no new reports of flooding overnight, although there has been some damage to roading infrastructure throughout the region and to power networks, largely in the Far North."
The Far North District Council said the area had also emerged largely unscathed from the storm.
Mr Duncan said the rain was moving south from Waikato, falling at a rate that could flood rivers and streams.
Environment Bay of Plenty staff were monitoring river levels after a drenching overnight.
Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty received approximately 45mm of rain since 9pm yesterday. Whakatane received around 22mm of rain and Rotorua approximately 14mm of rain.
Mr Duncan said the worst winds would move to the lower part of the North Island and top of the South by later this morning.
"Severe north east gales are looking increasingly likely in Wellington and surrounding regions which may affect commuters," he said.
By tonight the South should expect torrential rain in the east and severe gales inland and along West Coast.
Some flights, mainly of smaller aircraft, in and out of Wellington International Airport were cancelled due to the weather in other regions.
Cook Strait ferries have been running as scheduled.
A severe weather warning has been issued for Canterbury and Otago.
MetService said gale easterlies will spread into Canterbury tomorrow as heavy rain develops inland.
Heavy swells and high seas were expected about eastern coasts.
- NZPA, NZHERALD STAFF
