Debbie's deluge leaves Bay of Plenty a bay of mud and water

Large swathes of the Bay of Plenty is submerged under deep, murky floodwater as the region faces a catastrophe.

The arable lowlands are swamped with silt-laden water after rivers could not contain the torrential rain that fell during this week's storm.

The scale of devastation is enormous.

Aerial pictures show kilometres of farmland on the Rangitaiki Plains underwater, the silt-laden brown water dominant across the normally verdant landscape.

Edgecumbe is a town in disaster with water still lapping at window sills a day after a torrent burst through a breached stopbank.

Farm houses stand as isolated islands in a sea of brown water with no way in or out.

Rural communities are today isolated with urgent supplies now being flown into some 2000 trapped residents.

The Whakatane District remains in a state of civil emergency.

The Rangitaiki River remains swollen and still presents a danger to the region with fresh evacuations taking place this morning as pooling water threatens more homes north of Edgecumbe.