River of rain dumps on top of Cape

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The Gisborne-East Coast region was lucky that the latest sub-tropic rain event passed speedily to the east.

Even so, the overnight “flick” of its tail showed how quickly heavy rain can cause damage.

The atmospheric river that dumped on Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty delivered a downpour at the top of East Cape.

The biggest fall was recorded at Raukumara Station, with 170 millimetres in the 24 hours up to 8am Wednesday morning.

That location, one of a number of enclosed valleys, has had over 406mm in the past seven-day period.

Ruatoria, Te Puia and Tokomaru Bay townships all had around 50 to 60mm in 24 hours, with only 15 to 20mm around the southern areas of the region.

Nonetheless, the Hikuwai River at Tolaga Bay quickly rose by three-and-a-half metres with the overnight rain, from just over 3 metres at 6pm, to 6.7m around 2.30am.

The inland hill country and the districts roads are again saturated, with flooding and slips, and the Gisborne District Council now has a map graphic on its website, as well as a list, showing the exact location of the 43 damage sites.