"That's one of the saddest pictures I've seen," one person wrote, with another saying her heart was broken after the photos were shared by local Civil Defence. "
Earlier Tairāwhiti Civil Defence declared a State of Emergency, with some describing the weather event as the worst since Cyclone Bola in 1988.
Severe flooding has been reported at Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay, and warlier two road workers were trapped in a digger while trying to clear a slip.
Gisborne District mayor Rehette Stoltz said everyone that was trapped by flood waters earlier this morning had now been rescued.
"Everyone has been rescued, we're still ascertaining how many households – it's around 20 – 30 households that self-evacuated," she said.
"Access is a real issue, so we are at this stage just relying on our community links … but everyone that was stuck has now been freed."
Tokomaru Bay had been "cut in half" due to damage on the bridge and authorities were working to get supplies across to the other side.
There had been "a lot" of damage to properties in the Tokomaru Bay region, including some that had only recently been fixed up after flooding last June.
Flood damage at Waipiro Bay. Photo / Len Walker
"Tokomaru bay has a lot of damage, and it's water through homes, not just in the front yard."
"All the houses on Arthur Street that flooded in June have flooded again."
"Those houses have just been fixed up … one of those whānau was living in a caravan while the house was fixed up and the caravan has now flooded away."
With a red warning in place, they had been warned to expect another 150-200mm of rain later today, and Stoltz asked people to take care.
"We are please asking our community to stay off the roads. NZTA and our lifeline teams are out and they need everyone off the roads, it is not safe to travel."
She urged people to check on their neighbours, stay informed via the Civil Defence page and contact council if they needed assistance.
The main East Coast highway, SH35 between Gisborne and Opotiki, is closed by slips and the main bridge in Tokomaru Bay has been washed out, say police.
⚠ Thunderstorms and Downpours for Wednesday ⚠
Much of the North Island is at risk of thunderstorm activity today, with a risk of localised downpours for some areas.
Rain is also falling in Bay of Plenty with large downpours causing some flooding overnight. A heavy rain warning remains in place for the region until 10pm.
Emergency Management Minister and MP for the East Coast Kiri Allan said 150 people were evacuated overnight in the Tairāwhiti region.
The Hikuai River was also rising rapidly and was sitting at about 12m, she told RNZ.
Allan had spoken to the Gisborne mayor and told her the Government was ready to offer support as needed.
Tolaga Bay Area School principal and Deputy Civil Defence officer Nori Parata said the school was closed and had become the Civil Defence hub.
"The sheer torrential rain, thunder and lightning spectacle last night is like nothing I've ever experienced, certainly since Bola," she said. "The Civil Defence team had to quickly get into action through the night and evacuate families to higher ground."
"We evacuated seven people throughout the night. Some were already trapped and couldn't get out but were safe."
Rescue efforts were underway to retrieve two contractors who were trapped by water while trying to clear a slip.
"We have had to call in the rescue team from Gisborne and hopefully they will be able to get in, but the roads are in very poor condition, particularly between Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay."
She said there was no damage to the township but catchment areas and outlying valleys had been seriously affected.
"The river itself about an hour ago was 12.8m and Cyclone Bola was 12.2m, so that gives you an indication of how much rain has fallen here."
Evacuations taking place in the Mangatuna area. Photo / UAWA LIVE
SH35 GISBORNE TO OPOTIKI, GISBORNE - SLIP - 5:55AM Due to a slip, the state highway remains CLOSED between Gisborne & Opotiki since 3:55am this morning. Please detour via SH2 & allow extra time for travel. An update will be provided when the road status has changed. ^LZ pic.twitter.com/VeoJLZp0YJ
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) March 22, 2022
Several roads are closed, including State Highway 35 north of Tolaga Bay to Tokomaru, roads north and south of Tokomaru Bay, and Anaura Bay Rd.
Civil Defence advised of a slip on Waihau Bay Beach Rd, saying it was not safe to pass, and power lines are also down between Uawa and Turanga.
A heavy rain watch remains in place for Gisborne, with 70 to 100mm of rain expected to accumulate. Tairāwhiti Civil Defence says some areas may see 100–150mm.
Wharf Road in Tolaga Bay earlier this morning. Photo / UAWA Live
Tolaga Bay Civil Defence manager Greg Shelton said two road workers had been stuck in a digger surrounded by flood waters for four hours this morning.
They were trapped about 12km off Tolaga Bay and a large truck that had gone to rescue them had been stopped about 4kms before reaching them due to the rising water levels.
Shelton told AM things were getting a "little bit tense". The water was reaching the bottom of the cab and he was hoping the rain would ease off so the water didn't rise any higher.
They were now trying to get IRBs to reach them, but they were still about 20 minutes away. People in the area are being told to keep off the roads and stay inside.
Shelton said he hadn't seen rain like this since Cyclone Bola in 1988. He wasn't aware of any other evacuations at this stage.
State highway 35 north of Tolaga Bay 7.52am. Photo / UAWA LIVE
He said earlier they've had about 230 millimetres of rain in five or six hours, and the Hikuai River is at 12.6 metres.
Gisborne Civil Defence manager Ben Green described the event as "biblical", saying the rain was a lot of heavier and coming sooner than planned.
Search and rescue crew had been getting families out of bed from 1am so they could be evacuated and the river level gauges had been "pinging off continuously" since early evening.
Significantly more rain was still to come over the next eight hours and the Hikuai River was already high.
"I don't think we've seen the full extent of what it is yet to make itself present across the region actually."
The Mangatuna area had already been partially evacuated. People would also wake up to find road access was severely impacted, he told RNZ.
Green said there were also concern about the structures that were damaged in the November storm particularly properties with landslides in Gisborne's boundaries.
— MetService Severe Weather Info (@MetServiceWARN) March 22, 2022
A police spokeswoman said a person reported trapped in their car in the river at Tokomaru Bay at 1.35am was safely rescued from the vehicle at 2.30am.
About 2:45am police received reports of the Mata River banks bursting and flooding Matarika Road, with some people living in the self-evacuating.
They also received information about a second incident with a person who is trapped in a car on Waiapu Road, Tokomaru Bay, after a power pole came down on the vehicle.
He was rescued by Fire shortly before 7:30am, however power poles are down across the road and it is being closed south of Te Puia Springs.
The bridge at Tokomaru Bay also washed out last night and Waitangi St was closed.
Meanwhile power outages have were reported for more than 750 customers in the Tokomaru Bay area, Tolaga Bay, Tapuaeroa, Mata and Makarika.
The Eastland Network issued an update saying around 650 customers were still without power but they were working the way to all the affected areas.
Earlier one of their faultmen walked 4km in the rain to check the Tokomaru sub station, due to road closures.
They were seeing if they could access the worst affected areas via alternative roads, and planned to send some of their team up via helicopter to try and restore power to Toko.
Falling trees and floodwaters have caused a number of poles and lines to come down.
People are being warned to stay off the roads, and anyone in immediate danger of flooding should move to higher ground, and anyone in an emergency should call 111.
Diluted sewage is being released into the Turanganui River to relieve pressure on the sewer network in the Kaiti catchment area.
The significant rainfall is expected to continue today.
Bay of Plenty
Rain continues to fall over the Bay of Plenty with large downpours causing some flooding overnight.
A heavy rain warning remains in place for the region through until 10pm.
A MetService spokesman said Rotorua had 54mm of rainfall as of 7am with 21mm recorded at Tauranga Airport. 4.2mm of rain was recorded so far at Whakatane Airport.
There have been several reports of surface flooding in the Rotorua district.
Rotorua resident Josh Te Kowhai said Tarewa Rd was like driving through a river this morning with no visibility when it was pouring.
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group spokesperson Lisa Glass told RNZ this morning two of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's seven rivers had reached their normal capacity.
While the rivers aren't flooding at the moment, there was always the chance of flooding in the towns and cities so she urged people to check the NZTA website for the conditions of the roads.
SH35 in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, between Ōpōtiki and Gisborne, is closed due to a slip.
While the rivers aren't flooding at the moment, there was always the chance of flooding in the towns and cities so she urged people to check the NZTA website for the conditions of the roads.
Wet weather and a dramatic thunderstorm tore through the capital last night, causing surface flooding outside Parliament and even a leak at the Prime Minister's house.
The PM posted a photo on her Instagram story last night showing water being cleared from inside Premier House after a "fairly major leak".
A picture posted to her story showed her partner Clarke Gayford mopping up water from the floor accompanied by their daughter Neve.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms moved through the capital about 8pm yesterday, with a severe thunderstorm warning in place for the Wellington area until 9pm.
Surface level flooding was also reported outside Parliament, disrupting fresh soil that had been laid on the front lawn following the end of the protest earlier this month.
