Heavy rain warnings and watches were in place for large parts of of the North Island's east coast on Monday morning. Photo: MetService
Authorities are asking people in Gisborne to avoid travelling if they can, as wet weather continues in the region.
Heavy rain warnings and watches are in place for much of the North Island's east coast, from Tai Rāwhiti to Wairarapa.
MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said 60-80mm of rain fell in Tai Rāwhiti overnight, especially in the ranges. Gisborne city had 30mm and rain was expected to continue through the day.
Gisborne District mayor Rehette Stoltz said there was surface flooding on the route to the airport early on Monday and drivers should take care.
"We are asking our residents if you don't have to travel please don't," Stoltz told Morning Report.
"If you do travel, just drive to the conditions. It's really wet out there.
"As you can appreciate, we did not have a dry January and February to prepare our roads for the winter, so our network is very, very fragile."
A slip has blocked one lane of SH2 at Otoko, south of the intersection with Fitzgerald Road, Waka Kotahi said.
"We are just asking people to be super careful when they travel" - Gisborne District mayor Rehette Stoltz
River levels were being monitored, Stoltz said, and if they rose to the point where people needed to evacuate or move, Civil Defence would alert them via text and its Facebook page.
MetService said the orange heavy rain warning for Gisborne / Tai Rāwhiti was until 6pm, but another burst of heavy rain was possible during Monday evening and the warning may be extended.
Between 70mm and 100 mm of rain was forecast, with peak rates of 15-25mm/h, especially in thunderstorms.
An orange warning was also in place for Hawke's Bay about and south of Te Pōhue through to midnight, with the heaviest rain expected about the inland ranges and the coastal hills and ranges south of Napier. Hawke's Bay north of Te Pōhue was under a heavy rain watch.
SH5 at Eskdale, between Waipunga Road and Ellis Waller Road, was restricted to 30km/h due to flooding.
Wairarapa including the Taraura district was under a heavy rain watch. "They're in a similar situation to the rest of the east coast, with the rain just funnelling across," Wotherspoon said.
Heavy rain watches were also in place for Bay of Plenty from Whakatāne westwards and Marlborough east of Awatere Valley.