A tractor towing a vehicle through a flooded field near the township of Te Karaka on Thursday. Photo: Supplied / Matawhero Lloyd
Gisborne residents have evacuated as the region remains in a state of emergency with two more days of torrential rain ahead and Civil Defence warning the weather will worsen this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Fire and Emergency has received several calls for help with flooding in Hamilton overnight.
A spokesperson said there were multiple calls about flooded properties in southern suburbs, notably in Melville. Local roads were also flooded.
In Gisborne, more than 130 people left their homes in Te Karaka which has been cut off by flood waters.
Dozens of roads are closed and residents have reported massive landslips as sodden hillsides collapse.
The region has been essentially isolated from the rest of the country.
The heavy rain eased off on Thursday night, although rivers remained high.
Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz is asking people to leave their homes if they do not feel safe.
Stoltz told First Up the ground is already sodden and flooding but the rain is expected to continue through to Sunday.
"We evacuated some of our communities already. I definitely know that from our Te Karaka community, heaps have evacuated to whānau and friends.
"Because that's where you want to be. You don't really want to be in a council evacuation centre."
Stoltz said she was not yet sure how many people used evacuation centres overnight but a small number of people stayed in marae.
Gisborne farmer Damian McPherson has 50 hectares of land underwater, because his local river burst its banks yesterday.
McPherson lives at Te Karaka, and said parts of the farm that were still covered in silt from Cylone Gabrielle in February, were now flooded again.
His stock were safe on higher ground and the farmhouse was on a hill, but he could not believe the region was being hit yet again with more torrential rain.
The "biggest kick in the guts" was the huge amount of land slipping down the hills because the soil was so wet, he said.
"I didn't think it could get any worse and it is getting worse, but you can't do much about it really."
Another Te Karaka resident, Matawhero Lloyd, feared it was just the start of another ordeal.
The settlement got hammered by Cyclone Gabrielle in February: one person died, hundreds were forced to evacuate, and homes were destroyed.
Lloyd said the latest bad weather was adding to residents' worry and concern.
"Now with the second severe warning extended to Sunday, it looks like this is just the start of it for us.
Lloyd was a volunteer with the community response team and said it will make sure people are safe.
State Highway 2 which passes through Te Karaka is closed and the settlement is cut off.
It is also closed from Gisborne to Matawai and SH35, from Gisborne city to Ruatoria.
Further south, flooding at Eskdale closed SH5 between Napier and Taupō, and SH2 from Napier to Wairoa.
Evacuation centres have been opened in Gisborne at House of Breakthrough, Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae and Whakatō marae at Manutuke.
At least 15 people registered at an evacuation centre at Te Karaka Area School.
The isolated township of Te Karaka was cut off, and more than 130 left their homes and were staying elsewhere after flooding and heavy rain in the area.
Niwa modelling shows rivers in the Gisborne could become "extremely high" with significant amounts of rain to fall in the coming days.
MetService has warned up to 260mm of rain could accumulate around Tolaga Bay by midday on Sunday on top of what has already fallen.
Up to 150mm could fall farther south, and up to 120mm about coastal areas.