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Rain-soaked Northland has received a welcome reprieve as heavy rain which caused widespread flooding over the weekend moves south.
Far North District Council spokeswoman Allison Lees said today staff were better prepared for the heavy rain after two major floods caused severe damage in the region last year.
One road remained closed in the region, Old Hospital Road in Whangaroa, which had been cut off by a large slip, she said.
Crews were working on making the road passable by this evening, with about 25 homes cut off.
Flood waters which had threatened Kaeo had also receded, and power had been restored to most of the town, she said.
A fish factory outside Kaeo and four houses associated with the factory were the only places still without power, she said.
"We're happy with the response of emergency services and we were able to respond quickly.
"We learnt a lot from the unfortunate events of last year."
Emergency services, council and civil defence staff were well equipped to deal with any potential flooding and knew where resources had to go.
Ms Lees said it was too early to put a figure on the cost of the flooding but expected much of it would be associated with the slip clearance work.
- NZPA
