A new round of heavy rain is causing more strife on the North Island’s east coast, with “severe flooding” and evacuations in Gisborne and at least two major highways closed - including State Highway 5 into Napier.

Civil defence officials in Gisborne say a number of properties have been evacuated in the suburb of Mangapapa as heavy rain causes drains to flood and creeks to rise two metres. Police are moving door-to-door, with an evacuation centre set up at the House of Breakthrough on Potae Ave.

“There is severe surface flooding for the whole of the Mangapapa. Fire and Emergency have closed roads in and around the areas from Lytton High School to Winter St.”

Ormond Rd resident Helen Amanda told the Herald she noticed water surrounding her property at 4am.

”My daughter called us because the police woke them, alerting us to flood. Police told us we need to be ready to leave.

”We are starting to feel trapped and a bit hopeless because there’s nothing you can do to stop the weather.”

Valley Rd after a flash flood in Mangapapa, Gisborne overnight. Photo / Matt Dawson February 28, 2023

Amanda said some people had metre-high water go through their houses.

”It was up to our knees. It is slowly draining away but our house is a little raised so we are very lucky.”

Mangapapa resident Matt Dawson said the situation in the area was very serious last night, with many evacuations throughout the night.

”Surf life-saving boats were deployed. The water was very high. The water has subsided but drains are blocked causing more flooding.”

Kory Moorcock tried to evacuate from his Shelley Rd home but couldn’t get far because a bridge was flooded.

Moorcock told the Herald he was woken up at 3.30am by non-stop downpours, he looked outside and the water was up to his front door, two metres higher than what the creek usually runs at.

Gisborne resident Helen Amanda's Ormond Rd property flooded this morning. Photo / Helen Amanda February 28, 2023

“It is pretty crazy. When Hale came it was halfway up from our doors, a metre above the banks; the last cyclone water didn’t come up, and this time it’s just bad.

“It’s gone through our fences, spas, and sheds.

“We tried to evacuate, but the bridge to get to town was underwater. There is no way to get a vehicle out there.

“It feels like you don’t get a break.”

The MetService rain radar as at 5.50am on Tuesday. Source / MetService

Riverdale resident Sarah Adams lives on Parkview Pl told the Herald although she had not been evacuated, the floodwaters had entered her property.

”I have gumboots on, the water is up to my knees.

”Luckily our home is safe, only the garage is flooded.

”The same happened during Gabrielle.”

MetService have issued an orange heavy rain warning for Gisborne, saying a further 30 to 40 mm of rain on top of what has already fallen is expected to fall throughout the day into the early afternoon.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence is asking people to keep off the roads if possible, with surface flooding in several parts of the region. It says a section of State Highway 5 - the Napier to Taupō Road - has reportedly slipped away near Te Pōhue, north of Eskdale. “Avoid driving through any floodwaters. Keep off the roads if possible. If you are out on the road, drive to the conditions and expect delays and hazards.”

Further north on the coast, State Highway 35 between Ruatoria to Tikitiki was closed shortly after 7pm on Monday due to flooding, leaving Tokomaru Bay cut off once again. Some local residents have described hearing particularly heavy downpours from about 2am.

The new wave of heavy rain comes as the newest tropical cyclone in the Pacific has now been named, but forecasters expect it to pass by New Zealand without “major impact” as parts of the North Island recover from deadly Cyclone Gabrielle.

Fiji’s MetService named the weather system Tropical Cyclone Judy yesterday as it sat north of Vanuatu - just as authorities here extended states of emergency around the North Island.

New Zealand’s MetService, meanwhile, issued weather warnings and watches for swathes of the North Island yesterday - with most having lapsed this morning.

Flash flooding was reported in north Auckland yesterday evening after weather forecasters warned of possible heavy rain and hail around the city.

Thunderstorms barrelled into parts of the Super City yesterday afternoon as a line of severe electrical storms tracked from the city up through the centre of Northland.

Auckland’s weather is set to clear this week, however, with MetService forecasting partly cloudy days until showers returned on Saturday. Isolated showers are expected today, which should clear in the evening.

It should reach 23C today while the city should sit at 25C from Wednesday until a dip to 24C on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in Gisborne, an orange heavy rain warning was expected to lapse this morning - with up to 100mm of rain possible overnight.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence said sodden ground around the region made it vulnerable to surface flooding and rivers could rise quickly as water ran off into waterways.

Rain was forecast for Gisborne today, which could ease to showers by early evening and give way to fine weather tomorrow afternoon.

Following the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, Tairāwhiti Civil Defence said water quality at the region’s beaches continued to test poorly with high bacteria levels as far as Wainui and Makorori.

Residents were asked to continue conserving water even as small businesses such as bars, restaurants and hairdressers were allowed to operate using reduced mains supplies.

“From [today] water will go back on for around 200 residents on the pipeline between Makaraka, opposite the school, and lower Waingake Rd. These residents are mainly in Manutuke,” Civil Defence said.

“Today our reservoirs have built up, but we’re certainly not out of the woods yet. We have not had damage like this to our main water pipeline since Cyclone Bola in 1988.

“While we’re focusing on our community’s drinking water first, we’re also very aware it’s really important to have industry back in operation as soon as possible. So please continue to keep water demand down.”

As at 1pm yesterday, 129mm of rain had already fallen over the previous 24 hours in Ruatoria, and State Highways 2 and 35 remained closed.

Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty extended the states of emergency in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Tairāwhiti, Waikato, Hawke’s Bays and the Tararua District.

It would not be extended in Bay of Plenty, as the local council was able to manage its recovery within its “business as usual” operations, McAnulty said.

“The states of national emergency are being regularly reviewed and I anticipate that some areas still covered by the declaration will transition to recovery before 7 March.

“Thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes due to flood damage, and tragically 11 people are known to have lost their lives”, McAnulty said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s MetService expected Tropical Cyclone Judy would pass to the north of the country without a “major impact” on our weather when it neared later this week.

Niwa said the latest modelling yesterday morning showed the storm missing New Zealand.

Given the storm was still almost a week out, it would be monitored closely, Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said.

And while most projections point to it missing New Zealand, there is a chance that could change, he said.

Torrential rain fell in parts of Northland and Auckland yesterday evening after a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the city.

MetService weather radars detected thunderstorms in Northland near Maungaturoto, Kaiwaka, the Brynderwyns; and in Auckland near Warkworth, Kaipara Flats, Ahuroa, Wellsford, Te Arai and Puhoi.

MetService issued an urgent thunderstorm alert for Auckland north of the harbour bridge with the risk of heavy rain and hail which could cause flash flooding and damage, but other parts of the city were bathed in sunshine.

Large swathes of the North Island were under a severe thunderstorm watch last night, with a moderate risk of thunderstorms bringing heavy rain and hail from Northland to Manawatū.