Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz (front) says it is a difficult time for the East Coast. Photo: Supplied/ Gisborne District Council
State Highway 2 just south of Wairoa will remain closed overnight following a large slip in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A person died and another was seriously injured after hitting the slip, which initially blocked both lanes of the road.
Contractors onsite had been working all day to clear the slip but a geotechnical assessment had advised that more work needed to be done.
Waka Kotahi system manager for Hawke's Bay and Gisborne Martin Colditz said the closure was crucial to ensure the safety of road users in the area.
Heavy downpours caused flooding and slips on roads across Tai Rāwhiti and parts of Hawke's Bay over the weekend.
The regions have been saturated, with most of the ranges in the Gisborne District seeing between 100 and 150 millimetres of rain since Friday morning.
Wairoa had over 100mm of rain.
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said it was a difficult time for the area.
"Again we find ourselves with tidying up, fixing up stuff that we fixed up not so long ago, so it is quite demoralising for the teams working on our roads, for the teams working on our bridges and in our waterways."
At least 20 roads were shut in the Gisborne and Wairoa districts due to the weather.