Several roads are closed as wild wet weather moves across the North Island.
MetService said the remnants of Cyclone Donna, which followed a separate storm system earlier this week, were off the coast near Bay of Plenty, moving away from New Zealand.
Heavy rain in Bay of Plenty and Gisborne was easing but up to 50mm could fall this evening. Strong southerlies with gusts of up to 130km/h, hitting east of Whakatāne, were also slowing.
Low east of Coromandel Pen. continues to move east. Heavy rain gradually easing but southerly gales for many https://t.co/hnwmGxU1gR ^PL pic.twitter.com/mHa9Uu3nE1
— MetService (@MetService) May 12, 2017
The Transport Agency said State Highway 35 was closed after a major slip at Whitianga Bay, west of Ōpōtiki. It was unlikely to fully re-open until late tomorrow morning.
In Waikato, flooding south of Tokoroa had closed SH32.
SH2 through the Waimana Gorge remained closed.
The Paekākāriki Hill Road, which was blocked by a slip this morning, was now open.
More than 100mm of rain fell in the 24 hours to early Friday in parts of Bay of Plenty. Other parts of the North Island were also soaked on Thursday and into Friday.
Severe weather warnings for the Coromandel and for Waitomo to Taupo and Tongariro across to the headwaters of the Whanganui River have been lifted.
