Heavy rain causes flooding in Northland, SH1 closed and trees down in Whangārei

Heavy rain has caused flooding and slips and trees to come down across Whangārei.

In the Far North, power is out to 67 customers after a tree brought down power lines north of Te Ngaere Bay. Properties on Mahinepua Rd, Tauranga Bay Rd, Thompson Rd, Thompsons Access Rd and Wainui Rd are affected.

Flooding and road closures have also led to the closure of Kaeo Creative Minds ECE and Hukerenui Playcentre, as are Kokopu School, Otaika Valley School, Whananaki School, Hukerenui School and Whangaruru School.

A tree was brought down by bad weather and is blocking half the lane at McLeod Bay. Photo/Tania Whyte

The Ministry of Education said parents or whanau should check their school's or early childhood centre's website or Facebook page or contact them directly if they are concerned. A Top Energy spokesperson said crews were on the way to the Far North but power was expected to take a few hours to restore because of poor weather conditions and difficulty accessing the area.

Northland Police have closed State Highway 1 at Puhipuhi Rd, where about half a metre of water is across the road.

Diversions are in place along Jordan Valley Rd and Hukerenui Rd and police advise drivers to avoid the area.

Senior Sergeant Darren Sullivan said the Ruakaka River had burst its banks at McCathie Rd at 10am and water was going across the road.

He said motorists should check with NZ Transport Agency before heading out to see whether the roads were flooded. Sullivan said weather conditions were "treacherous".

"The road is not a place to be, unless you need to be."

A MetService rain radar captured at 11am on Thursday. Image / MetService

A pothole on SH1 near View Rd, Hikurangi, has damaged about five cars and another one between Kaiwaka and Te Hana had caused trouble for southbound motorists. One car suffered a punctured tyre and a damaged front driver's wheel rim. Three other vehicles had also pulled over with punctures.

Whangārei District Council has received reports of flooding and damage from across the district after strong winds and heavy rain continued overnight.

Council infrastructure customer service coordinator Chris Smith said the council was monitoring rainfall and water levels as high tide approaches around 2pm.

He said the council had been advised the banks of the Hikurangi Swamp had breached. An update on this area is expected shortly.

An NZTA spokesman said flooding which had forced the closure of SH1 at Whakapara was the only state highway closure in Northland.

He said the main concern is the deterioration in the road surface caused by the rain.

Potholes are appearing as the water gets under the road surface, and crews are out working to fix them.

"Our advice to drivers is to take care, drive to the conditions and look out for potholes."

The left lane for northbound traffic between Te Hana and Kaiwaka has been closed due to potholes. Traffic will be able to use the passing lane.

Whangārei District Council have closed McCathie Rd as the Ruakaka River has burst its banks and is over the road.

On Cove Rd, at the northern end of Langs Beach a tree is blocking one lane.

About five kilometres down Tangihua Rd a tree is across the road and the road is not passable.

Large areas around Kaeo were flooded after days of torrential rain in the Far North. Photo / David Fisher

Prescott Rd is also down to one lane with trees blocking the road. Weke Rd has flooding over the road and is down to one lane.

There is flooding, small slips and trees over the road on Russell Rd. The road is not passable from State Highway One to Pigs Head Rd.

The weather has caused bad potholes on Riverside Drive.

Whareora Rd has surface flooding, and some trees down in places but the road is still passable.

Whangārei Heads Rd has small amounts of flooding and several tress blocking parts of the road.

There is flooding in several places along Pipiwai Rd – including 500 metres past the Ruatangata Hall.

A tree is down blocking the northbound land on a blind corner of Worsp Rd.

Church Rd in Kamo has a tree blocking part of the road, while Kokopu Rd has flooding in several places.

Flooding near Whangarei. Photo / Tania Whyte

There are reports of debris and small trees on Ngunguru Rd. There is a tree down at the intersection of Old Mill Lane and Ngunguru Rd.

Whananaki North Rd has flooding in several places and is not passable about seven kilometres along from the SH1 end.

A tree is hanging over the road on a blind corner of McLennan Rd and there is flooding on the corner of McCardle Rd and State Highway 14.

Residents are asked to drive with care and report any issues to the contract centre on 094304200. Roading contractors are working to clear the roads as quickly as possible.

Power outages in Kamo, Parua Bay and Tangowahine caused by trees falling on lines have now been fixed.

Crews are still working on an outage in Kaihu, near Dargaville which was also caused by a tree falling on a line. A Northpower spokesman said about ten people were yet to get back on the network.

The spokesman urged people to check the outages section on the Northpower website and call 0800 104040 if they see downed powerlines.