East Coast residents on standby

About 400 residents of a small town near Gisborne were last night on standby to evacuate as heavy rain threatened to flood the nearby Waipaoa River.

Civil Defence staff had warned residents of Te Karaka, 32km northwest of Gisborne, to prepare to leave after heavy rain and strong winds caused flooding, power cuts and road closures.

Forecasters were predicting up to 70mm of rain overnight.