A washout on Poripori Road, Bay of Plenty on 9 May, 2023. Photo: Sunlive / Daniel Stuart-Menzies
Torrential rain has hit the Bay of Plenty, with Rotorua recording more than 65mm between 3pm and 5pm on Tuesday.
Severe rain and thunderstorm warnings are in place for some areas.
There were reports of flooding in Rotorua and the council said it had been receiving numerous calls for help.
A spokesperson from Rotorua Lakes Council said the council was not aware of Lake Rotorua bursting its sides. However, there was surface flooding in the area.
Across Rotorua, crews were responding to 24 incidents caused by flooding or trees falling.
Tauranga was also being hit with heavy rain that was expected to continue throughout the evening.
State Highway 36 is closed, as is Cambridge Road due to a slip, a tree is blocked SH2 before Youngson Road and SH29 is closed from Kaimai Café due to a slip. Further road closures and updates can be found here.
The Western Bay of Plenty, Whakatāne and Kawerau were under a red heavy rain warning from 6pm. A red severe thunderstorm warning was in place for Opotiki and Whakatāne. An orange heavy rain watch was in place until 3am Wednesday for Bay of Plenty including Rotorua.
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence was warning people to avoid travel, to stay at home and to check on loved ones and neighbours. People should be prepared for power outages and keep up-to-date with MetService forecasts, it said. Loose items outside should be tied down and gutters checked.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council said river levels were rising.
"With the ground already very saturated from last week's rainfall, and with the current and predicted weather incoming, we are already seeing river level rises and we anticipate this will continue over the next 24 hours," the council said at 5pm.
Whakatāne, Rangitāiki, Kaituna, Waioeka and Otara rivers were expected to reach first warning level Wednesday morning, it said. Several rivers were expected to reach warning level two by the end of Wednesday.
"This means it is higher than the river channel and water is now on the area next to the river (the berm). However, this level is still well within either a floodway or stopbank part of our scheme."
It was advising caution for people living or travelling near Rotorua's lakes as they were "particularly high, but not at levels seen over Anniversary Weekend in January".
Whakatāne District Council was warning of the possibility of further slips and surface flooding due to the ground already being saturated.
"If you live or work near cliffs and steep slopes (escarpments) keep a close eye on any instability. This includes movements of trees or the slope, cracks in the earth, ground slumpage, or dislodged boulders suspended in vegetation on the cliff face. If you feel unsafe, bunk down with friends or whānau until you feel safe to return."
All councils in the region were asking people to be prepared.
The situation in Coromandel
The head of Civil Defence on the Coromandel Peninsula told Checkpoint just after 4pm he was expecting another three or four hours of intense rain before the front passes through.
The region has now surpassed its normal annual rainfall, with 3.5 metres of rain falling since the beginning of the year.
Conditions at the time of his call to Checkpoint were not severe but the weather was being closely monitored, he said.
