As the floodwaters left in the devastating trail of Cyclone Wilma subsided yesterday, so the tales of heroism and helping emerged. New Zealanders - many facing clear-ups of their own - came together to help those affected worse than

Former tropical cyclone Wilma is now well clear of the North Island, heading quickly out into the Pacific Ocean but leaving a big clean up operation for the island and high winds forecast for the rest of NZ.

Temporary welfare shelters have been set up in Northland to house about 70 people, after tropical cyclone Wilma battered the upper North Island overnight. People from Kaeo through to Kawakawa have evacuated from their homes due to rising

Another weekend bout of wind and rain is being forecasted as the North Island recovers from 72 hours of storms.

Wild weather was last night lashing the upper North Island as heavy rain and high tides combined to keep authorities and residents on high alert for more coastal flooding.

Areas of Auckland and beyond were yesterday inundated by floodwaters. Here is what happened in some of the worst affected areas.

Coastal residents are bracing for another surge of water at high tide. The MetService has issued a severe weather warning for most of the North Island.

The MetService's severe weather warning for most of the North Island remains in place today, and Bay of Plenty civil defence emergency workers are on standby after heavy rain pelted the region overnight.

Campers across the upper North Island are tonight preparing to cope with torrential rain.

Extremely high humidity levels that saw parts of the country sweltering yesterday are set to ease.

The merger of two ex-tropical cyclones and a low above the skies of New Zealand today may actually decrease the predicted severe winds in some parts of the country, weather forecasters say.

Zelia is no longer a tropical cyclone, but is still expected to whip up a storm as she races over NZ.

Most of NZ bathed in scorching temperatures yesterday and the summer weather is forecast to continue today.

Tropical systems Vania and Zelia will merge as they head for New Zealand from different directions.

We are more familiar with El Nino, but La Nina cycles have left an imprint in Australia and NZ too.

New Zealand could face strong winds and rain from a tropical cyclone battering the Pacific Islands with winds of up to 225km/hr.

Major South Island roads remain closed by flooding after a storm that swept through New Zealand yesterday.

A major storm has swept right through the country, leaving warm, summer temperatures for the rest of the week.

Councils are assessing damage, roads remain closed and campers are mopping up as a storm that battered many parts of the country at the peak of the summer holiday season abates.

Gale-force winds are battering Auckland while storms that have hammered campers in the South Island's Tasman region and lashed Wellington and the Wairarapa recede.