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The worst may not be over for the flood-ravaged Far North, with steady rain falling yesterday and more expected today.
About 40mm of rain fell in Whangarei yesterday afternoon and it continued drizzling into the evening.
The Bay of Islands also got a drenching, with more than 30mm at Purerua Peninsula.
MetService forecaster Allister Gorman said it had not been quite as bad as feared but it was "a significant top-up which they didn't really need".
And he warned the situation was not going to improve.
Much of Northland would have rain or showers every day this week, with the heaviest downpour likely to come on Friday.
Last night, motorists were urged to drive with "extreme care" on State Highway 1 between Waipu and Kawakawa because of surface flooding on parts of the road.
Transit New Zealand's northern operations manager, Joseph Flanagan, said numerous potholes had resulted from the rain, making driving conditions hazardous.
"For the sake of everyone, please drive to the conditions and especially don't speed," Mr Flanagan said.
This comes as the Cabinet meets today to discuss what relief to offer Northland. Last week, Civil Defence Minister Rick Barker gave $100,000 to the Far North mayoral relief fund, saying this was the most he could authorise without Cabinet approval.
However, the cost to the Government from the damage could end up in the millions once repairs to roads get under way.
The Government had already announced $500,000, signed off by Social Development Minister David Benson-Pope, which critics said would not make much difference in a region hit by widespread flooding.
But Mr Barker said the cost to the Crown would be more once total costs were tallied up.
The $500,000 will be used to hire more people for Taskforce Green, who will help repair houses and clear debris.
But as more rain fell in the Far North yesterday, the district's mayor, Yvonne Sharp, said the Government had indicated it would provide more relief money.
"We understand more is to come on top of that, not counting subsidies for road repairs," she said.
"Many people were just getting on the top of things after the last floods in March."
The contents of all the council's 25 pensioner flats in Oxford St, Kaitaia, have been cleaned up and put in storage after up to a metre of floodwater swirled through the units last week.
Carpets have also been removed while the council decides on the block's future.
Mrs Sharp, who passed through Auckland yesterday on her way to the Local Government Association annual conference in Dunedin, said it could cost "getting on for a million dollars" to restore the pensioner units.
Meanwhile, in yesterday's rain in the Far North, a woman in a house bus reported to be in danger of slipping down a rural hillside 10km west of Kaeo near Pupuke was said by the Mangonui Fire Service to be in no trouble.
Rain had cleared from most of the Far North by late yesterday and moved south.
The Whangarei District Council estimates the cost of last week's storm damage to infrastructure at about $2.5 million.
About half - $1.3 million - was caused to roading and the rest to wastewater systems and property.
By comparison, the March 29 floods caused about $7 million damage to council infrastructure - $6.5 million of that to district roads.
- additional reporting: Stuart Dye and NZPA
