The Wairoa River on Wednesday. Photo: Supplied
Land has slipped and farms are cut off after a heavy deluge around Wairoa overnight.
Local farming leader Allan Newton said there were no reports of serious damage, but there were flooding and slips around the district.
"I know they said about 130mm fell over a 12-hour period, but it was more like three hours, it was really intense," he told RNZ. "The local creek got really high but luckily it didn't burst its banks, but yeah, there's a few puddles around."
Newton said the heavy deluge had not been kind to his crops.
"We may as well go on holiday for a couple weeks and let it dry out. For the ground that's cultivated it's pretty devastating - it will drown recent planting. Plantings that are out of the ground, provided the water drains away they should survive, but it could still affect the roots which in turn will affect the yield at the end."
Newton said the most frustrating aspect was the state of the roads, with closures in place due to slips.
"I think most roads have slips, even the eight-kilometre road between our place and town is shut. It's going to cause all sorts of issues, especially for stock transport and also a lot of freight, a huge amount of productivity comes down the road between Wairoa and Napier, most of the Tai Rāwhiti produce goes through to Napier Port - so the GDP that this road produces for New Zealand is high, yet it's like a goat track."
It was time the government paid up and provided a proper improvement to the roading network in the region, he said.
Despite the road closures, Fonterra said it was still collecting from its few suppliers in and around Wairoa.
'You learn from the last one'
In Nūhaka, north of Wairoa, three homes were evacuated and three people had to be rescued from their cars.
The main highways around Wairoa have since reopened, but Waka Kotahi urged people to drive carefully.
Wairoa resident Michelle McIlroy, who lived by the Wairoa River, was still out of her house after Cyclone Gabrielle when the latest storm hit.
She told Midday Report the river was "pretty high" ahead of Wednesday afternoon's high tide, due about 2.30pm.
Michelle McIlroy. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
"Out at the river mouth, the the sea's pummelling the the sand dunes and I've never seen it that high out that way. So yes, it's a little bit worrying."
She said it was hard to tell what might happen - as Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, there was "only had a little bit of rain [and] a lot of wind, but the next morning there blue skies - and flooding.
When she got up on Wednesday morning, she decided to check the river level - her cat followed, but "wouldn't let me get near the bank".
"When animals do things like that, you take notice. It's a sign."
Her home, which she had not lived in for nine months, was "high and dry at the moment".
"I thought well, if the river runs through the house again, the wall's already out. So, you know, just open the doors and let it go."
She said others in Wairoa were "a little bit anxious".
"I saw people drawing out money and a lot of cars out there having a look at how high they were, especially on the other side of town at the moment… I think everybody's just, you know, keeping an eye on things and hoping it'll pass without any damage this time."
Trying to stay positive, McIlroy and others in the community have already started putting up Christmas lights - but were ready to go at a moment's notice should conditions worsen rapidly.
"I've got a full tank of gas because that's what happened last time - we had no petrol, you know, people ran out of petrol and things like that. So you learn from the last one."
School spared
The principal of Nūhaka School, north of Wairoa, said areas which were not affected by Cyclone Gabrielle were hit by the deluge overnight.
Raelene McFarlane said road conditions were treacherous due to surface flooding.
During Cyclone Gabrielle, areas north of Wairoa were not as badly hit, but this time the deluge seems to have encompassed the whole region.
McFarlane said she had seen photos of the former Nūhaka School site, which had not been used since February, showing similar flooding.
MetService said the rain was forecast to clear this afternoon.
