A slip on SH4. Photo: NZTA
The Ruapehu District Council says the storm that struck the area has left widespread damage to its roads and other infrastructure.
Fixing the roads is expected to cost many millions of dollars.
The district, as well as areas like Waitomo and Awakino, are in clean-up mode.
Waitomo's mayor John Robertson said the damage is likely to run into the millions there too.
In Ruapehu, the Emergency Operations Centre remains open and staff are contacting everyone who needed help in the last few days.
Some properties were cut off but the council said they were not at risk and everyone is okay.
It said the scale of damage is becoming clear as floodwaters drop and it's urging extreme care on the roads.
A slip on Kokomiko Road, near Waimiha. Photo: Ruapehu District Council
Heavy rain battered the region in the early hours of Tuesday, causing rivers to rise and flooding roads, farms and some houses.
Robertson said there had been "considerable" damage throughout the district, including in Awakino, Benneydale, and the Marokopa area.
"The rainfall was huge."
Travel out of the Ruapehu District is still affected by State Highway 4 north of Taumarunui being closed.
UPDATE 8:05AM, THU 16 OCT
— NZ Transport Agency - Central North Island (@nztacni) October 15, 2025
The below state highways remain CLOSED. They are expected to remain closed until 8pm, Fri 17 Oct.
CLOSED
• SH3 Mokau to Piopio - SLIPS
• SH4 Te Mapara to Taumarunui - SLIPS
• SH43 Taumarunui to Whangamōmona - SLIPS https://t.co/yYkhtaExiF
Photo: NZTA
Multiple road closures
The following state highways will remain closed until 8pm tomorrow:
- SH3 remains closed at Awakino between Mokau and Piopio. There are multiple, smaller slips further south towards New Plymouth. SH3 at Tongapōrutu is down to one lane and under stop/go with a 30km temporary speed limit in place in place.
- SH4 remains closed between Eight Mile Junction (the intersection between SH3 and SH4) and Taumarunui.
- State Highway 43 Forgotten World Highway remains closed from Whangamōmona to Taumarunui. Access remains open from Stratford to Whangamōmona.
In Waikato:
- SH30 from Te Kuiti and Benneydale is now OPEN.
- SH31 is currently closed between Ngutunui to Oparau.
Mayor says weather warnings should have been upgraded
Robertson said warnings for Monday night's weather should have been Red, the highest alert level.
"It grew, and the rainfall in the middle of of the night was huge in many parts of the Waitomo District and from that we got roads closed and things, but rivers started to rise and the Awakino River rose to a level that we think has never been seen ever before," he said.
At the time, orange warnings were issued by MetService.
MetService said Red Weather warnings for North Island areas badly damaged by rain and flooding may have been warranted in hindsight, but the official forecasting agency had to act on the information available at the time.
Homes have been left filled with mud and fences flattened after the river burst its banks.
About half a dozen homes were flooded.
MetService said Red Warnings mean there is "high confidence" of widespread and severe impacts.
But it said there was uncertainty for this event which meant it did not have sufficient confidence at first to go beyond a Yellow Heavy Rain Watch. That was upgraded to Orange as impacts started to be felt.
MetService said there was still not enough evidence to upgrade to a Red Warning.
"We recognise that, with hindsight, it may appear that a Red Warning could have been warranted," it told RNZ.
"However, our decisions must be based on the best information available at the time, rather than on outcomes that only become clear afterwards."
MetService said it always looked to learn from each severe weather event and it will keep working to refine its processes.
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