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Severe weather north of Auckland and in the Far North has lifted roofs off houses, caused flooding and brought down trees and power lines.
The Fire Service had been kept busy this morning after dealing with more than 25 calls since 6am because of the weather, northern communications centre shift manager Jaron Phillips told NZPA.
A lot of trees were down over roads and power lines were down, he said.
A high tide in Ruakaka, 29km southeast of Whangarei, was causing problems as it was overflowing on to the road, Mr Phillips said.
Roofs were being lifted off houses and a shed had blown over, he said.
A Vector spokeswoman said customers northwest of Auckland in Warkworth, Wellsford and Kaipara Flats were without power after trees fell on to power lines.
Linesmen were sorting out the situation quickly, she said.
A 15-year-old girl died early this morning after a tree fell on a caravan she was sleeping in.
The incident happened on a rural property at Whakapara, 23km northwest of Whangarei, at 12.50am.
One other person was in the caravan but managed to escape uninjured, Whangarei police Acting Sergeant James Calvert said.
And search efforts to find a missing family were also being affected by the weather.
Police had grave concerns for the safety of a 40-year-old man and two children, aged 13 and six, missing in Northland's Mangamuka Ranges.
They went into the Omahuta Forest on Friday morning on a day hike, Far North area commander Inspector Chris Scahill said.
Search and rescue members from the wider Northland squad began searching at first light this morning.
There was flooding in the area and the weather was still stormy, Mr Scahill said.
The MetService had issued a severe weather warning for Northland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, but heavy rain and severe gales were expected to ease today.
Strong winds in Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, the Kaimai Ranges and Waikato were past their peak. However, gusts of 120kmh were still likely in exposed places.
It also issued a severe weather watch for Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, saying heavy rain was expected to continue until tomorrow.
In Taupo, southeast gales were expected today but should ease by this evening.
Snow showers were expected on the Desert Road, Porters Pass in Canterbury and the Rimutaka Hill Road, north of Wellington.
- NZPA
