KEY POINTS:
A 61-year-old man and his horse were killed instantly yesterday when they were struck by lightning during an annual hare hunt near Dargaville.
Witnesses say the Auckland man was struck on the top of his head, sending an electrical charge through his helmet, down his body and into the horse.
Dargaville Sergeant Jonathan Tier said four other riders were also hit by lightning, but had minor injuries.
The riders were among 85 people who had gathered for the annual Northland Hunt. They were about half an hour into the event when lightning hit the region at midday.
Local residents have described watching continuous displays of fork lightning travelling directly to the ground over the farm where the hunt was being held. Rider Lionel Unitt was part of the group which was was hit.
"We were just hunting... we had a freak lightning storm come over and it struck unfortunately," he told TVNZ's Close Up programme.
He said he felt a shock in his leg, but was able to stay upright.
The injured riders were all taken to hospital, but Mr Unitt said they were "fine".
Northland Hunt Committee member Donna Austin said the group saw lightning around 11am, but nothing gave cause for concern until shortly before the man was struck.
"It was just one of those bizarre weather events."
She said there were several lightning bolts, and the man appeared to have been struck by the final one.
A nurse, who wasn't part of the official hunt medical team, gave the man CPR within 30 seconds of him being struck but was unable to revive him. The medical team arrived soon after but were also unable to help.
The man's wife, who was also at the hunt but travelling in a vehicle, was last night said to be coping "exceptionally well" and was being supported by friends.
Some riders were expected to continue with the hunt today, but others had been left traumatised.
"He was well known to most of us - a man who was respected in the hunting fraternity," said Ms Austin.
Other riders were distraught after the freak accident which was one of many during yesterday's storm which dropped 94mm of rain between South Hokianga and Dargaville during a three-hour period.
As the heavy rain moved down, North Island schools were evacuated, boats were pulled from the their moorings, trees fell on homes and cars and surface flooding blocked State Highways in the drought-stricken Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
More rain is predicted today, with the bulk of the storm expected to hit the Bay of Plenty, East Cape and northern parts of the Hawkes Bay.
This week's downpour is expected to be about half the size of Cyclone Bola which hit eastern parts of the North Island in March 1988.
THE STORM'S PATH
Northland
The violent electrical storm that struck the west coast between South Hokianga and Dargaville dropped 94mm of rain over three hours, along with a display of thunder and lightning that claimed one life and injured four others.
Opononi Area School was closed and evacuated as rising floodwaters threatened school bus transport for children. Taipa Area School closed early when the Doubtless Bay district lost power, leaving pump-dependent water supplies and toilets unusable.
A lightning strike on the main line into Kaitaia caused the town to lose power from a substation south of Kaitaia, while much of the Doubtless Bay area was without electricity for more than three hours after a line went down between Taipa and Kaitaia.
Meanwhile, further north, a solo yachtsman sailing towards New Zealand's north-east coast in a dismasted yacht set off an emergency locator beacon around noon.
The Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter responded after Maritime NZ placed the vessel 23 nautical miles off North Cape.
Maritime NZ spokesman Ross Henderson said the helicopter made contact with the skipper of the 33ft yacht Boadicea, who said he had a knee injury but did not require medical treatment.
His yacht had been dismasted some weeks ago and he had been sailing under a jury rig towards New Zealand. While the sailor was not in distress, he wanted to be taken in tow to Opua in the Bay of Islands.
Auckland Region
Strong winds and heavy rain caused havoc from as far north as Whangaparoa, where a 20ft launch broke free from its mooring and sunk at Swann Beach to central Auckland where falling trees destroyed property.
In west Auckland strong winds brought an old pine tree crashing down on to the roof of a family home, smashing roofing titles.
Station Officer Len Blake of the Waitemata fire brigade said the rotten pine tree had snapped at the base and plunged straight down on the roof of the house.
"Fortunately no one was home," said Mr Blake. "It's done a substantial amount of damage (but) it hasn't quite intruded into the living area. The truss of the house has absorbed most of the weight so it's in a stable condition at the moment."
Firefighters trimmed the tree and put on a temporary cover over the smashed roof titles, while Waitakere City Council staff were called in to appraise the scene.
In Epsom, businessman Christopher Caruana returned from a course to find his car flattened under a tree which had come down during a storm. Arborists had to be called in to cut off the fallen tree which had destroyed the front of the Subaru.
Lightning also hit in Auckland, striking a container ship as it came into the harbour.
One man told the Herald he watched from his office window as two arms of lightning shot down from two clouds, converged above the Mersk ship Esther Schulte, and exploded above the ship's bridge in a flash of blue-white light, the man said.
The pilot aboard the ship was not aware the vessel had been struck.
Waikato/BOP
The rain brought a mixed reaction from farmers in drought-affected provinces, while motorists found themselves trapped in surface flooding.
The storm front dumped 19mm of rain on Hamilton airport between 2 and 3pm, and similar deluges were recorded throughout the Waikato.
Farmers, who have had parched pastures for months, were concerned the heavy downpours might wash topsoil away.
Meanwhile, some Wairarapa farmers were fearful the smaller amount of rain they received yesterday would offer little help.
Waikato Federated Farmers president Stew Wadey said farmers welcomed their first rain in months, but the appearance of lakes in paddocks which had recently been scorched earth could pose problems of its own.
With grass having died off, the rain was turning the ground to mud and valuable topsoil was being washed away, Mr Wadey said.
In the Wairarapa, farmers near Masterton reported heavy and welcome rainfalls.
However, farmers on the much drier east coast said they had only received a few millimetres of moisture, and much more rain was needed to re-green paddocks.
In South Waikato the heavy rain caused severe surface flooding on the roads with State Highway 1 on the southern side of Tirau reduced to one lane.
There were also problems on State Highway 29 in the lower Kaimais on the Tauranga side.
In Mangakino one man's car became trapped in floodwaters and he had to abandon his vehicle, while St John had to tend to a 70-year-old man who was injured during a collision with a car and bus.
- additional reporting Craig Borley, Mike Houlahan, Tony Gee and NZPA
