Boatie takes speedboat for a spin during flooding between PioPio and Te Kūiti.
A jet boat was spotted joyriding in a flooded Waikato stream as parts of New Zealand were battered again by wild weather on Saturday.
Footage was captured of locals in a boat speeding and spinning through a swollen body of water by a motorist driving between Piopio and Te Kūiti.
The Herald has approached authorities for comment on the video.
Civil Defence’s flood safety advice specifically warns people against playing in water.
“Floods are New Zealand’s number one hazard in terms of frequency, losses and declared Civil Defence Emergency Management emergencies,” the agency says on its website.
This followed localised downpours that fell at rates nearing 20mm per hour in parts of the upper North Island.
The wet conditions come just days after torrential rain triggered flash flooding and landslides across Taranaki on Thursday.
On Saturday, forecasters said there was a moderate risk of thunderstorms in Northland, eastern Bay of Plenty and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti – with the potential for hail of up to 1cm in diameter over Gisborne later in the day.
MetService issued a heavy rain watch for the Wairoa District in Hawke’s Bay, which remained in force until 9pm Saturday.
Between 60 and 80 mm of rain and thunderstorms were expected until 1am Sunday.
Peak rates of up to 20mm were expected, with a “minimal chance” of upgrading to a red warning.
The South Island has also been under attack from the weather this week.
The Nelson-Tasman region was smashed by damaging floods and heavy rain.
Homes in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough were left uninhabitable, roads were damaged, and properties have been inundated with flood waters – dubbed by local authorities as a “one-in-100-year event”.
However, another bout of heavy rainfall came and went on Thursday without any dramatic exacerbation of the existing post-flood crisis.
