A closed road. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Most people evacuated during flash flooding at Waihi Beach in western Bay of Plenty have found accommodation for the night, Civil Defence says.
About 60mm of rain fell during a cloud burst just after 2pm on Monday leading to evacuations, but the full extent of damage from the flash-flood was not likely to be known until Tuesday morning.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Ryan Geen said they responded to 10 callouts to flooding and assisted with multiple evacuations this afternoon.
Three elderly people and one family on holiday had been put up in a local camping ground, Western Bay of Plenty District Council's Civil Defence duty manager Peter Watson said.
Floodwaters were waist deep at their height and there had been significant damage to the roading network, he said.
Earlier, Watson said residents from 11 units for the elderly were safe and sheltering at the local RSA.
Waihi Beach RSA Manager Mel Gearon said they had about 20 evacuees there in the early evening.
She told Checkpoint the torrential downpour flooded several pensioner flats. She estimated about 15 homes would be uninhabitable tonight.
Gearon said they were all doing well and the RSA had a full buffet for dinner.
Western Bay of Plenty ward councillor Allan Sole said it flooded rapidly.
Holiday baches have been inundated and some units for older residents were evacuated, he said.
Waihi Beach community board chair Ross Goudie said water was flowing over stormwater ponds, across a main road in the northern part of the settlement and into a low-lying area.
There were a lot of houses in that area and the area's stormwater infrastructure could not keep up with major flooding, Goudie said.
State Highway 29 in Eastern Waikato has partially reopened.
An earlier slip had blocked lanes, but now one lane is open in each direction.
State Highway 25, north of Golden Valley Road in Waihi, has reopened after flooding.
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for much of Waikato, Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga.
The warning said the storms were expected to be accompanied by "very heavy rain" that could cause surface of flash flooding, and make driving conditions dangerous.
The storms were moving southeast from offshore Matakana Island, and expected near Te Puke and Papamoa after 3pm, and near Rotoehu and Pongakawa Valley before 4pm.
Heavy rain and strong wind had been expected in Northland and Auckland today, but downpours in those areas were not as severe as forecast and warnings were lifted before the afternoon.