Omapere Fire Brigade rescued a driver from this car after it was washed down a river near the township yesterday. Photo / Supplied.
Kaitaia is still virtually cut off today as floodwaters and slips keep the Far North town isolated from the rest of the country.
Strong winds and heavy rain on Thursday left the town detached from the rest of the region, with two big slips on the Mangamukas and flooding at Kaeo and on State Highway 10/Inland Rd at Lake Ohia still stopping vehicles getting to and from Kaitaia.
Several homes were in danger of being evacuated and an elderly woman had to be rescued form her flooded home by IRB just south of Kaitaia. As well hundreds of homes were left without power due to damage cause to the top Energy network by the storm.
No homes needed to be evacuated last night in Kaitāia despite concerns about rising water levels, particularly at Allen Bell Dr and Parkdale Cres, a Far North District Council spokesman said.
Some residents did, however, leave their homes to stay with friends and whānau overnight as a precaution.
The district and regional councils would continue to monitor water levels today, especially in the Awanui River and the Whangatane Spillway.
All Far North wastewater schemes, with the exception of Kāeo, were back to normal operation.
SH11 has reopened in two places as floodwaters start to recede but the top of the Far North remains cut off from the outside world.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said SH1 was open as of noon at Rangiahua Bridge, between Ōkaihau and Mangamuka, and at Larmer Rd just south of Kaitaia.
SH1 through Mangamuka Gorge, south of Kaitaia, remained closed between Kitchen Rd and Makene Rd due to multiple large slips.
SH10 was also still closed due to flooding north of Kāeo Bridge and between Inland Rd and Aurere Beach Rd, at Lake Ohia.
No detour was available so motorists were urged to delay their journeys where possible.
High tide on the east coast, which is likely to worsen flooding in some areas, is due at 1.10pm
In the Hokianga, Omapere Fire Brigade saved the life of a motorist who had been washed down a flooded river in their car.
As of 10am today four local roads around the Far North remain closed due to slips, flooding and fallen trees.
They are Mangamuka Rd (closed by a slip), Paponga Rd (fallen tree), Pupuke-Mangapa Rd (flooding) and West Coast Rd (landslide near Kohukohu).
Another 15 roads are passable only by suitable vehicles or with caution, a Far North District Council spokesman said.
They are Allen Bell Dr, Clough Rd, Davis St and Miro Pl, all in Kaitāia; Hōreke Rd, Kaitāia-Awaroa Rd, Kerikeri Rd, Omaunu Rd, Opara Rd, Ruaroa Rd, Russell-Whakapara Rd, Waiaua Rd, Waimangaro Rd, Wekaweka Rd and Whangapē Rd.
Herekino Gorge — an alternative route to Kaitaia when SH1 and SH10 are closed — was impassable on Thursday night, though the council said this morning it could be used with caution.
As flood waters continue to rise, Okaihau resident Joe Carr has spent the last 24 hours monitoring the situation in the Far North.
Carr is a former Northland Regional Councillor and chair of the Awanui River Flood Management Liaison Committee.
The committee is made up of local community representatives and iwi, who've worked together with NRC and FNDC on the Awanui River Flood Management Scheme for the last 15 years.
Carr said despite the large amount of flood water, if it weren't for the flood protection scheme, the whole of Kaitaia and Awanui would now be under water.
"I'm really pleased with how well the system has worked," Carr said.
"This has been the biggest weather event we've seen since 2007, as there has been a steady flow of water of all the catchment rain flowing down here to Kaitaia and Awanui.
"We haven't received the rainfall data yet, but because of the flood protection scheme, all of the urban areas in Kaitaia and Awanui have been saved from going under.
"All the rivers are now dropping, but there is still more rain to come, so we'll see how we travel."
Carr said while the townships has been protected from going under so far, the lower regions of Awanui had been impacted, with several houses along Kumi Road in floodwater.
He said works in these areas were due to be completed by this summer, which would have made a significant difference to this most recent weather event.
"We've got some clear improvements, it's an ongoing process, so there are definitely still areas that need structural change," Carr said.
"There is also still significant work to be done down near Donalds Road Bridge where the flood protection needs to be lengthened.
"The main worry for now is for the farming community in these lower regions, particularly around near Kumi Road and the Whangatane Spillway."
Far North District Councillor Felicity Foy said she had been out and about checking on the various flood impacted areas.
She said most people were doing well, however one house in particular near the SH10 and Whangatane Spillway had been quite badly impacted.
"I've been up since this morning and went down to meet with Civil Defence and NRC to see how the farmers and residents were going," Foy said.
"There is quite a bit of floodwater along Kumi Road, but no residents have had to be evacuated and are happy inside their homes as the water is going down.
"The Burton family has been hit quite bad and have required assistance with their cows and other animals."
Foy said while residents had weathered the last 24 hours fairly unscathed, she did warn people needed to remain vigilant and prepared to evacuate if need be.
"The river has dropped 1-2m, but it's still raining and the river will rise again," she said.
"Residents need to stay aware of the water levels in their vicinity and ensure vehicles are on higher ground so they can leave if need be."
The worst of yesterday's rain — almost 200mm fell in some areas in the 24 hours to 6pm — was on the east coast between the Bay of Islands and Whangaroa, but by nightfall the pain was felt most in the Kaitaia area.
This morning state highways remain officially closed in four places around the Far North, while another is down to one lane due to flooding.
As of 9am today Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said SH1 remained closed at Rangiahua Bridge (between Okaihau and Mangamuka) and Larmer Rd (south of Kaitaia) due to flooding, as well as in Mangamuka Gorge (near Makene Rd) due to a number of large slips.
SH10 was also closed due to flooding north of Kaeo Bridge and at Lake Ohia (near Inland Rd). SH11 was down to one lane at Taumarere (near Waikare Rd, northeast of Kawakawa) but still passable.
Locals reported that some traffic — trucks and large four-wheel-drives — were getting through as the water dropped slightly north of Kaeo.
A number of cars remain in the floodwaters north of Kaeo Bridge after failing to make it through yesterday. Waka Kotahi urged motorists to avoid any unnecessary travel.
With rain expected to continue today no estimates of highway reopening times could be provided.
As of 10am today SH1 at Mangamuka Gorge and SH10 near Hihi remained closed, according to a Far North District Council spokesman.
Trucks and vehicles with high road clearance could use SH10 north of Kāeo but that could change later in the day with high tide due at 1.10pm.
Top Energy said it's crews are continuing to reconnect Far North residents left without power overnight, mostly as a result of trees bringing down power lines.
As of 8am today 961 households were still without electricity, up from about 700 at 6pm on Thursday. The biggest outages were in the Whangaroa area (473 homes) and Peria (225 homes).
By 9.30am power had been restored to Whangaroa and the number of homes without power across the district had dropped to just over 500.
Northland can expect more rain today, but the weekend looks set to be mainly fine with just a few isolated showers, MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said.
Glassey said the orange heavy rain warning, initially due to end later this morning, has been extended until midnight.
Another 40-80mm of rain is expected to accumulate, mostly in northern parts of the region, north of Hikurangi, he said.
"The heaviest rain in Northland has been in the Far North with quite a lot less in the remaining parts of Northland. Whangarei had nowhere near the amount other places have had."
Kerikeri had the most rain, with 229mm falling since Tuesday night including 176mm on Thursday and Friday.
Kaitaia had 116mm of rain on Thursday and Friday, while Kaikohe had 101mm, and Whangarei 32.2mm.
The weekend would bring "a lot of fine weather with the odd shower," Glassey said.
"Tomorrow morning the rain should ease to just a few showers, and we're expecting fine spells to increase throughout the day.
"Sunday will bring a few more showers but it's not looking like any significant amounts of rain."
Glassey said temperatures were "extremely warm" for this time of year.
"We've got overnight minimums that have been around 16-17 degrees, which you would expect in the middle of summer.
"That really warm air, it's coming down from the tropics, and that can carry lots of moisture which brings the potential for heavy rain."
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