UPDATED 9.58PM

KEY POINTS

• Hundreds of people are without power in Auckland due to weather-related outages. A power cut has left 616 houses in the dark in Glen Eden. A further 108 homes are without power in Silverdale after a lightning strike.
• Some homes in Kawakawa Bay, which has been cut off for a few days due to heavy rain, arer now facing a power cut.
• A weather event being dubbed a 'mini tornado' has sent a trampoline flying and uprooted trees in Stanmore Bay, Whangaparaoa.
• Heavy rain has caused a number of houses to flood across Auckland, mainly in the eastern suburbs.
• Two vehicles were rescued from floodwaters on Portland Rd in Remuera.
• A large amount of earth has slipped into the water, in front of a cliff-side home on Waiheke. Slips have also closed Avalon Rd in Whangamata. Contractors are trying to clear the situation.

Parts of Auckland are under water tonight as torrential rain moves across the region causing flooding and slips with more foul weather to come.

Hundreds are without power in Auckland, a house has been left perched above a huge slip on Waiheke Island and surface flooding has hit parts of the city.

There are also reports of a mini tornado near Whangaparaoa and of water coming into people's homes through basements and ceilings as the deluge continues.

Civil Defence planning and intelligence manager Keith Hamish said up 50mm of rain had already fallen this evening on Waiheke Island and near the Waitakere Ranges.

There were reports of slips in Waiheke and Kawakawa Bay, and a number of flooding incidents in central Auckland.

Two vehicles had been rescued from Portland Rd in Remuera and video emerged of a man wake boarding behind a vehicle in floodwaters.

A 'mini-tornado' ripped through Stanmore Bay, Whangaparaoa this evening , sending a trampoline flying.

Brian Crescent resident Jil O'Brien was putting her children to bed when the rain suddenly became heavy and the wind slammed a window shut about 7.15pm.

"It lifted the trampoline from the neighbour's house and brought it crashing down the side of our house.

• Second heavy drenching forecast for North Island

"It damaged a few trees and brought the fence down."

O'Brien said the weather event, being described by residents as a 'mini-tornado' frightened her children.

Residents from nearby Vipond Rd also reported that the sudden bout of wind and rain lifted some big trees in the area.

WeatherWatch.co.nz issued the alert for Auckland City and region between 7.30pm and 9pm warning of localised surface and flash flooding, and a high risk of flooding in low to medium streams and waterways.

Drivers were warned to take extreme care and avoid driving until after 10pm.

But Aucklanders are now being offered a momentary break from the wild weather as torrential rain begins to ease in northern parts of the region and the CBD.

Weatherwatch.co.nz says some very heavy downpours are continuing in south and south-east, Bombay and the Hunua region. They are expected to ease by between 9:30pm and 10pm.

Dry spells and light rain are now moving in, to add to warm temperatures and 98 per cent humidity in Auckland.

Flooding has been reported in some suburbs.

Further heavy downpours may flare up again overnight, however conditions should ease by dawn before afternoon thunderstorms and downpours kick in again on Saturday afternoon.

Severe downpours hit the North Island today for the second time this week, bringing torrential rain and flooding, causing power outages, slips and road closures.

Our sporting heroes are not immune, with the Warriors' game in Auckland and the Hurricanes versus the Chiefs in Hamilton being played in torrential rain this evening.

Northland residents have self-evacuated and one family is reportedly trapped by floodwaters in the region as wild weather slams the North Island.

In Auckland hundreds are without power and trains have reportedly been stopped on the tracks near Glen Innes.

Wet weather has caused a number of events to be cancelled or postponed.

A cliff is slipping into the ocean beneath a house on Waiheke Island.

Far North Civil Defence spokesperson Bill Hutchinson said a family was reportedly trapped by floodwaters up the flood-prone Waiomio Valley, just south of Kawakawa, but emergency services were unable to reach them.

Some residents in the area had self-evacuated to Mohinui Marae.

The Kawakawa Fire Brigade was bringing in an inflatable boat in case they have to mount a rescue overnight but Hutchinson said water levels are already dropping.

Kaeo River began flooding State Highway 10 just before 6pm.

MetService has issued severe weather warnings across the top of the country as three distinct bands of rain will pass over Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Whakatane and Gisborne between 4pm today and 4am tomorrow.

The first band of heavy downpours is already underway, expected to last for at least another three hours, before easing off slightly.

The Northern Fire Service has responded to several calls of water coming into people's homes through basements and ceilings in east Auckland, Silverdale, Waiheke and Whangamata.

Northern Fire Service shift manager Megan Ruru said fire crews are attempting to divert the water to make it go elsewhere.

"Because of the amount of water, there is not a lot we can do."

The wild weather has stretched volunteer fire brigades with Kerikeri and Rawene particularly busy dealing with flooded homes, downed trees, blocked drains and crashes.

At the height of the storm, about 2pm today, Rawene firefighters were on a roof on Clendon Esplanade trying to secure tarps to stop rain entering a home.

The weather is also wreaking havoc in Auckland, including leaving commuters stranded after trains reportedly stopped on the tracks around Glen Innes.

Auckland resident Daman Singh said his daughter rang him to say she had been stuck on a train for 15 minutes.

"The trains are waiting to get the water cleared but the weather is getting worse so I don't think it's going to be clear very soon."

Auckland Transport is advising commuters to use Southern line services and transfer to a rail shuttle between Penrose platform 3 and Onehunga.

Hundreds of Aucklanders are without power and even more are being warned of potential outages as more torrential rain sets in.

Wet weather caused a power pole to spark, cutting electricity to 823 homes in Glen Eden, west Auckland this afternoon.

Maraetai residents were also affected by the weather, which caused a power outage to 368 homes. Power has been restored in the area.

A Vector spokesperson said the company was expecting a number of power outages as heavy downpours kicked in tonight and had been working with Civil Defence to prepare for the severe weather.

The weather has also taken its toll on the Far North's power network. This morning 600 households were without power, mainly in Oue, Waimamaku and Horeke in South Hokianga.

Power was restored to all but 60 households by 4pm.

A Top Energy linemen had to call in police when a hostile landowner refused to allow them access to damaged lines in the Wekaweka Valley.

More outages are expected overnight.

Northpower public affairs manager Steve Macmillan said the company has extra crews and an arborist on standby overnight.

"We have concerns about land slips causing poles to fall and trees falling on lines.

"People should stay well clear and keep animals clear of any fallen lines."

Upper North Island residents are also being warned of phone and internet outages.

More heavy rain will kick in again around midnight and a third band is expected to strike at around 4am, as extreme conditions cause chaos across the country.

People on the East Coast should prepare to be slammed by more huge downpours.

Civil Defence is urging Northlanders to keep up to date with the latest weather forecasts as MetService has predicted another 100mm-130mm rain for the north in the 21 hours through to 6am Saturday.

MetService has also forecast peak intensities of 25mm per hour or possibly more in thunderstorms over that period.

Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group spokeswoman Victoria Randall said the latest rainfall figures provided by Northland Regional Council showed that up to 210mm of rain had fallen in the upper Waitangi River near Lake Omapere since 6am on Tuesday.

The figures also showed 208mm of rain had fallen in the eastern hills above Kaeo, 189mm near Houhora and in the eastern hills above Ngunguru, since Tuesday.

River and stream levels in the region are being monitored closely, with special attention being paid to the Kaeo, Waitangi, Whakapara and Mangakahia rivers. There are risks of flash flooding in some areas caused by heavy, localised thunderstorms.

There has already been flooding on State Highway 10 at the bottom of the Bulls Gorge south of Kerikeri, causing hundreds of vehicles to back up in either direction around 3pm today. A single police officer attempted to control the chaos.

Randall said it is very likely that State Highway 10 just north-east of Kaeo will flood with this evening's high tide about 7pm.

"Conditions are still fairly hazardous for driving and people need to be aware of the possibility of surface and localised flooding so please take care, only travel if necessary and keep informed before you leave.

"There are number of ways you can do this including options such as the AA Roadwatch website, local radio or social media."

Civil Defence is also warning farmers to move stock to higher ground if they have any concerns.

Today two properties in Whangamata have been deemed uninhabitable, with Civil Defence engineers assessing structural damage to properties that have been reported as "at-risk".

Civil Defence controller Garry Towler said two Whangamata properties are currently uninhabitable and another 10 are being assessed by experts.

Road closures as well as internet and power outages are also being reported.

The top half of the North Island is seeing a number of faults across the Chorus network.

In Whangamata, the core fibre damaged in a slip on Wednesday has been repaired, restoring broadband and voice services to customers of all but one of the Chorus roadside cabinets in the area. Work is underway to repair a secondary fibre that will restore broadband and voice services to customers served by the final street cabinet. That is expected to be completed today.

In a statement issued this afternoon, Chorus apologised to customers who may have lost phone or internet services, with the company saying it is working with its service companies in the regions hit to safely restore services as quickly as they can.

Also this afternoon, Thames-Coromandel District Council alerted people to a number of road closures.

The Whangamata bypass, SH25 Harry Watt Rd to Port Rd, is closed in both directions while Whangamata's Avalon Rd is also closed due to slips. Contractors are trying to clear the situation.

The Kauaeranga Valley Rd is closed from the Kauaeranga Visitor centre upwards. All camping, hut and walking tracks are inaccessible.

"We're also doing some urgent repairs to a pipe which supplies water to Whangamata," Civil Defence controller Garry Towler said.

"This is our priority at the moment as the pipe has moved due to subsidence from the flooding over the past few days. We've got earthmoving machines in stabilising the pipe and this will take the afternoon to fix. We have a back-up supply, so people don't need to worry about their water supply."

The Kerikeri fire brigade was called out four times in less than half an hour on Thursday, starting at 12.35pm when rainwater brought down part of the ceiling in a Kemp Rd home. All four calls were weather related.

One of the worst-hit businesses was the Soundlounge in Kerikeri, Northland's only independent record store, where on Thursday afternoon water from an overflowing gutter entered the ceiling cavity and gushed into the shop, damaging thousands of dollars' worth of stock.

The heavy rain forced the cancellation of the first day of the biennial Te Ahuareka o Ngati Hine Festival today, which normally brings thousands of people to Otiria Marae near Moerewa.

A concert tonight featuring Fat 32, Huaki Puanaki, Ruia Aperahama, Russell Harrison and Troy Kingi will go ahead as planned, however. Organisers are due to make a decision about day two of the festival, which celebrates everything related to the Ngati Hine iwi, first thing tomorrow morning.