Flooding on the East Coast has trapped several residents in their homes, with further heavy rain forecast for tonight putting local civil defence centres on alert.

The east coast prepares for gale-force winds and heavy rains.

Drivers are being urged to take extra care on the roads after two cars became stranded in Coromandel floodwaters this morning.

Gales and heavy rains are set to lash the North Island for the first few days of the school holidays.

Auckland boaties are being warned to check their moorings as the MetService issues a severe weather outlook, with gale force winds on the way tomorrow.

A mudslide has destroyed about a dozen buildings in the fruit-growing region of southern British Columbia.

Northland is expected to suffer a deluge tonight while snow and ice pose difficulty for motorists on the roads.

Heavy rain may ruin Queen's Birthday for North Islanders with another big low barrelling out of the north Tasman Sea.

The NSW town of Lennox Head will appeal to the state government to declare the area a natural disaster.

May was a stormy month, with more lows over the Tasman Sea and higher pressures east of the Chatham Islands whipping up more wind and rain.

The Auckland City Council is under fire after neglected storm water drains flooded a supermarket.

Flood waters in Canterbury and Otago have begun to recede as heavy rain eases, but there's no respite with snow forecast for tonight.

The eastern Bay of Plenty is in for a dose of heavy rain tonight while the south gets a respite.