#WATCH: This woman has been labelled a "hero" after inserting herself into drains in Burrows St to help clear debris and protect local businesses as rapidly rising flood waters hit Tauranga.
Water was close to lapping at the entrances to the businesses when Lucy found the main drains in the street and used a bright orange strop to lift them free. She then dropped herself into the drain to try to remove mud and debris preventing the rapidly rising water from dissipating.
She was joined by her father who, dressed in fluoro rain overalls, manually pulled leaves and rubbish from the side drains as Lucy manoeuvred herself and debris free in the middle of the street.
Water was more than knee deep in Burrows St, where it lapped close to the entrances of local businesses. Photo/Kiri Gillespie
"To be honest that's the first time I've stepped in a drain, but I know what to do, so yeah." A nearby businessman who did not want to be identified said Lucy was an "absolute hero" and "wonder woman".
About 65mm of rain fell in the city in just over an hour, last night.
Metservice forecaster John Crouch said the rain fell between 7pm and 8.20pm.
"Anything over 40mm an hour was classified as torrential rain, so 65mm is very heavy," he said.
Rotorua and Turangi also experienced heavy rain, but Tauranga experienced most of the deluge.
Heavy rain has caused flash flooding around the city. Jillian and Bill Munroe watch as water raises and enters their conservatory on Penberton Cres in Greerton. Photo/John Borren
Fire Service spokesman Colin Underdown said there was about 20 flooding related callouts across Tauranga tonight, with massive surface flooding in some parts of the city.
Affected areas included Otumoetai, Brookfield, Fraser Street, Greerton, Parkvale, Gate Pa, but no reports of any road closures, he said.
Underdown said there was also about dozen flooding calls out in Rotorua, and Te Ngae Rd at the intersection with Isle Rd in Owhata was cordoned off while council contractors and the fire crews dealt with a lot of surface flooding.
Fire crews from Mount Maunganui, Greerton and Tauranga stations all responded.
The thunderstorm sent water into industrial units at Brook St at Fraser Cove, with one tenant saying the severity of the flooding was caused by the combination of the heavy downpour and high tide.
In Pemberton Cr in Greerton, Bill and Jillian Munro watched as water rose and then entered their conservatory. Both believed the council had not done enough to prepare for the storm by clearing drains in the area.
Meanwhile, Lloyd St resident Talia Rorvik furiously bailed out water where the spouting overflowed into the flat-roofed section of her bedroom.
"We were just bailing; we doing what we had to do. It was so scary; it was like a fountain coming in.
The renter said the firemen ripped the spouting off and that solved the problem.
"We were worried that the roof was going to collapse."
Water was flowing out of Brook St at such a heavy volume across Fraser St that cars were almost brought to a standstill. Further up Fraser St, outside Phillip's Garage, a man was waving cars to slow down because it looked like water across the road was entering the garage.
Heavy rain has cause flash flooding around the city. Some residents made the most of flooding on Pemberton Park. Photo/John Borren
There was extensive surface flooding across Cameron Rd, south of 15th Ave.
Police were last night warning motorists in Tauranga to take extra care with surface flooding in on Cameron Road, Fraser Street, Eleventh Ave through to Fifteenth Ave, and to Greerton.
Roads were also affected in eastern parts of Rotorua, including Te Ngae Rd.
