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Severe rain has caused surface flooding, a spate of traffic accidents and sewage overflows in some parts of New Zealand.
MetService forecaster Oliver Druce said Taranaki had borne the brunt of the downpour, with over 300mm falling in the Mt Taranaki area today.
Nearby Inglewood received 112mm, while Whitianga in the Coromandel got 80mm, as did many parts of the Waikato.
But it was in the lower North Island where the rain wreaked the most havoc.
The deluge contributed to 14 minor traffic accidents across the area along with surface flooding in parts of Wellington and Levin, Sergeant Mark Clausen said.
Wellington City Council authorities were also left dealing with raw sewage running into streets after a blockage on Tory St in the central city.
Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the blockage, caused by a large amount of congealed cooking fat, was cleared within a couple of hours.
However, the heavy rains caused overflows from three sewage pumping stations into the harbour and from one on the South Coast near Lyall Bay. Swimming was not advised in either area in the next day.
A Fire Service spokesman said there had only been two incidents of serious flooding on private properties - in Kilbirnie, Wellington and in Palmerston North.
The rain also caused several slips on the Featherston side of the Rimutaka hill, but none serious enough to close the road.
Mr Druce said the Hutt Valley had received about 83mm of rain, and parts of Wellington city about 70mm.
Rain in the lower part of the North Island had eased by late this afternoon, but was continuing to fall heavily further north.
A police spokesman in Auckland said there had been 12 traffic accidents in the upper part of the North Island since the rain hit, with one serious accident near Opotiki, in the Bay of Plenty, where a woman received serious injuries after her car rolled.
Emergency services had attended incidents involving 21 fallen trees in the Tauranga area.
Mr Druce said farmers in drought-affected Wairarapa got some relief with over 20mm falling, but further north in the parched Hawke's Bay there was little rain.
Blenheim had received about 60mm, and parts of Nelson and the West Coast about 30mm.
The rain was caused by a sub-tropical system that had come down from north of New Zealand, he said.
A police spokesman in Christchurch said there had been little more than light rain by late afternoon today.
However, downpours were expected over the weekend for Westland and the eastern hills of South Canterbury and Otago.
Meanwhile power lines company Vector cautioned customers to be prepared for the possibility of outages following heavy rain and a forecast of strong, gusty northerly winds this weekend.
- NZPA
MetService this morning issued a nationwide severe weather warning for heavy rain, but said the weather was expected to ease over most of the country throughout the day.
MetService forecaster Allister Gorman said the eastern hills of the Bay of Plenty could get up to 150mm of rain.
Auckland and the Waikato are also set for more rain, although it should begin to ease tonight.
Sewage is overflowing in central Wellington following heavy rain in the capital.
Wellington City Council communications manager Richard MacLean said this morning that sewage is spilling out into the Courtenay Place and Tory St area. He said work is underway to fix the blockage but he is not sure how long the clean up will take.
Mr Gorman said the heavy rain is now moving south and MetService has issued a severe weather warning for the hills of Canterbury.
He said Westland is in for more down-pours with up to 160mm of rain possible in the southern Otira ranges.
There have been a number of slips on the Featherston side of Rimutaka Hill Rd, State Highway Two.
Police team leader Chris Turner said the slips have been reported to police and motorists should be cautious.
Mr Gorman said the eastern hills will also get a soaking with areas between Timaru and Balclutha set to get up to 150mm over the next two days.
He said that could cause stream and river levels to rise quickly and encouraged people to check up-to-date forecasts.
MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said the rain is due to a low pressure system which is a combination of the one that brought floods to New South Wales earlier in the week and the remains of
Tropical Cyclone Innis near New Caledonia.
He said the North Island will be worst hit, particularly the central hill country areas. The heaviest falls are likely to be on Mt Taranaki and in the ranges of Bay of Plenty.
Mr McDavitt said unfortunately the low is slow moving, so the rain will stick around for much of the weekend.
Earlier this morning, police were at the bottom of the Ngauranga Gorge, north of Wellington, attending a crash that blocked one southbound lane.
The downpours were expected to continue over the weekend for Westland and eastern hills of South Canterbury and Otago.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NEWSTALK ZB
