The scramble to evacuate Edgecumbe forced people to leave everything behind, including pets.
Wheelchair-bound Paul McConnachie (pictured) saw the evacuation announced on television, and five minutes later the water was starting to flow into his Rata Ave home.
A rescue truck came to evacuate him, but McConnachie was forced to leave his dogs to fend for themselves as water soaked the flooring of his house.
He was worried about his animals and was shaken by how fast the water rose.
Another resident, who wished to remain unnamed, wasn't at home when the evacuation order was given.
She rushed to rescue the three labradors home alone at their College Rd home, but was turned away at the cordon.
She was not the only one shedding tears at the cordon, a Bay of Plenty Times reporter at the scene said.
There were groups of people hoping to get through to get their pets, belongings or medication but turned away.
A Bay of Plenty man and his 9-year-old son narrowly escaped rapidly rising floodwaters as they fled Edgecumbe.
Glen Fraser and his son Seth had been buying some posts at the town's RD1 store.
"It was like a wall of brown water. I threw Seth in the truck and we were out of there," Fraser said. "We were just in the car park at Edgecumbe about to come home anyway and a lady was driving past on the road, which was still bone dry at that point, and she called out to the worker she knew at RD1, 'Get out, get out!'.
"I looked across to the direction she was pointing in and there was a wall of brown river water flowing down the road. That's when I realised straight away what had happened. We jumped in the truck and left the area straight away."
Fraser and Seth ploughed through floodwaters to then get home to nearby Otakiri.
A stopbank is all there is between Harry Street and disaster, but the former contractor living just metres from the Rangitaiki River is staying put. For now.
The feisty 71-year-old spent yesterday morning on his lawn enjoying a cup of tea watching the swollen river pass by his home, even though it is 1.5m below river level.
Parts of the town began to be flooded after the river burst its banks yesterday morning. But the hardy Edgecumbe resident said he knew what he was doing and didn't feel in any danger.
"The water has gone down a foot since 7.30am and that's a good sign," Street said yesterday.
Water was still seeping through a point in the stopbank around 500m from his home but his road was not affected by flooding yet.
"The whole of Edgecumbe would have to be under water before this house goes under."
Street said he would keep an eye on thingsat high tide, as that was the only worry.
In a Papamoa driveway, a trailer is loaded with furniture. Mike Finlayson and Amanda Brown are moving out.
"It started coming up through the kids' room last night," Finlayson said of the water surrounding his home yesterday morning. "We're moving next door until May."
Finlayson, a relief milker, was renting the home. The children, a 2-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy, saw water seeping up through their floorboards after heavy rain on Wednesday night. The water had dropped 10cm in a few hours since the rain stopped, but was still lapping at the sides of the house.
The family was one of many facing challenges in areas around Bell Rd in Papamoa.
Dairy farmer Selina Cook's home was surrounded by water which had crept up the sides of her house and almost, but not quite, made it inside.
Her horse had become so stressed it had eaten a 30cm-long chunk out of a wooden fence.
"This is by far the worst flooding I've seen in eight years," she said.
A jury is being asked to decide who was the aggressor, a home owner or a visitor.