TOP STORY: Eight die as floods hit Bay

Eight people died in a road smash this morning as heavy rain caused chaos leaving dozens of homes and businesses flooded and two bridges washed out on State Highway 2.
A tourist van and truck collided, at Waitoa near Matamata about 9am. Police confirmed initial reports that eight people were dead.
Heavy rain was thought to have contributed to the greasy road surfaces. As this edition went to press, several ambulances and at least two rescue helicopters were heading to the accident scene.
In other flood chaos, numerous vehicles were this morning trapped near Matata after flood waters and slips blocked State Highway 2 and two bridge abutments were washed out, severing the link between Tauranga and Whakatane.
Late this morning, the fire service was still being called to incidents in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Matamata and Whakatane.
At the Devonport Rd end of 11th Ave, water was reported to have reached the top of some cars' doors. Traffic backed up around a submerged Memorial Park because water was flowing back across the road. Tauranga Airport was also understood to have also suffered flooding.
For some, the deluge was the second time flood waters have hit their homes in as many weeks.
On May 3, a staggering 142mm fell in a 28-hour period in what weather experts described as a "once in a 10-year" occurrence.
Today's flooding is the fourth time in five years that the Western Bay has been hit by an unexpected deluge at this time of year, with floods also occurring in April 2000 and 2004.
Seven teams of firefighters battled to keep up with the continuous flow of calls for help shortly after the rain hit before 2am.
Senior firefighters say the heavy and long spell of rain hit just as high tide was recorded, making it difficult for the stormwater system to cope with the huge influx.
Transit staff were on the scene of the SH2 wash-out and officials said the bridges at Hauone and Pikowai could be out for more than two days before repairs could begin.
Bay of Plenty area engineer Daya Govender said earth stabilising the bridges had washed away in the storm waters and a diversion was in place.
"Because the storm is still brewing it's unlikely we will be able to get in and start work. We will have to wait until the flood abates before we can start emergency repairs," Mr Govender said.
Matata farmer Bruce Shearer said about 50m of the Hauone road and rail bridge disappeared, trapping residents in the area.
"We have not experienced floods this bad since 1964," he said, indicating this morning's damage was similar to the Manawatu floods in February last year.
High tide today was expected at 2.30pm and more flooding was expected.
Tauranga's Senior Station Officer Mark Keller said the surface flooding on the streets in Arataki was about half a metre deep, making it difficult for firefighters to pump away water.
"We were there helping them get through a stressful time but in some cases there was very little we could do."
Mount Maunganui Station Officer Lindsay Nicol said in some places along Marine Parade water was too deep for fire appliances to pass through. "It's heart-breaking for some of these people who were hit two weeks ago."
Matata volunteer fire fighters were also trying to pump out flooded houses in the coastal village this morning.
Many residents hit overnight had only just finished cleaning from the flood two weeks ago.
At Links Ave, Maaten Odendaal was so outraged about the performance of stormwater drains he rang Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby at 1:45am and asked whether or not he had had a good night's sleep.
"He was pretty upset about it, me phoning him in the middle of the night and giving him hell."
When Mr Crosby visited the address about 7am, there was still water in the basement of Mr Odendaal's house.
Mr Crosby said that although the city's stormwater system held up well considering the heavy rainfall, the council was working on upgrading certain areas that could not cope with high volumes of water.
"We design stormwater systems to cope with a one-in-50-year event, we seem to be having several one-in-50-year events," Mr Crosby said.
In a special report on the flood threat by the Bay of Plenty Times last weekend, Barry Low, manager for emergency management in Tauranga and the Western of Bay, said homeowners could minimise flood damage by maintaining drainage systems around their properties. "... It's your property that's going to be flooded."
Council stormwater engineer John Palmer said it was very difficult to get the water to drain given the rate it was falling this morning.
Mr Odendaal said his family were more prepared last night, having lost several persian rugs and thousands of books in the flood two weeks ago.
"Things happened faster you know, we knew about it earlier than last time."
He managed to stop the water from coming inside his room by using towels, paper and blankets.
"We were lucky this time. We managed to block most of it off."
Meanwhile Campbell Rd resident Mike Furie has every entrance to his low-lying two-storey house barricaded with sandbags.
Tauranga City Council gave him the bags eight years ago during another flood.
The self-employed man and his wife have lived at the address for 20 years and do not want to move. But it is the third flood this year and they were sick of it.
"All council have done has left me sandbags," he said. "They put rates up and take a rise. I've had enough."
Mr Furie said his house was badly hit because water ran down Clyde Rd and Tweed St and from sections behind them, on to his property.
In the 15 minutes the Bay Times spent at his house, small lakes formed on the Furies' driveway and front lawn. Just down the road, the water was 10cm deep from one side of the road to the other.
Inside the Furie basement, evidence of the flooding remained. Patches of water graced the lower points in the floor and a pile of dirt sat in the middle of the room. At the front of the garage, a fridge sat on bricks.
At Spillane and Hutchison on the corner of Portside Dr and Triton Ave staff were nervously waiting for water to spill inside.
One staff member who contacted the Bay Times said they had asked the council to stop traffic going past.
"We have got big trucks and every time trucks go past they send waves up," she said.
Early today Bayfair Shopping Centre was hit by the flooding when the stormwater drain "literally blew its top", manager Anne Clarke said.
She said the rain, combined with the high tide, probably put pressure on the stormwater drain which runs underneath the shopping centre.
About 1am the "man hole" located outside department store KMart popped, sending water "gushing" inside.
KMart, Roberts Jewellers, ANZ and Telecom were worst affected by the flooding - but Mrs Clarke said there was little stock damage.
The centre was ready for opening at 9am.
Farmers and orchardists have also had enough of the rain and say they would like it to stop sometime soon.
Federated Farmers heading to their annual meeting have joined hundreds of other motorists forced to take a detour around a slip on the Matata Straight.
A section of State Highway two between Otamarakau and Matata is closed following heavy rain overnight which caused a slip on the Matata Straights.
Kaimai farmers Judith and Dennis McFetridge planned to drive to the Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers conference in Whakatane through the alternate route, via Rotorua.
Over the past three days they have recorded 20mm, 17mm and 34mm for each 24-hour period ending at 7am today.
"We needed the rain but we now have enough," Mrs McFetridge said.
Several Coromandel Peninsula townships were still cut off today after heavy rain caused severe flooding - especially in Whangamata - yesterday. State Highway 25 between Kopu and Hikuai was temporarily blocked, effectively isolating Coromandel's east co