Lower North Island braced for more rain

Water courses across the Matahiwi Rd near Masterton. Picture / Lynda Feringa

Wellington and Wairarapa were bracing for more bad weather today, with up to 60mm of rain forecast for some parts of the region.

Some river levels were falling, though with more rain forecast, there were fears for later in the day.

Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu could also be affected by today's downpours.

Civil Defence teams remained on alert last night as the Wellington area braced itself for more heavy rain after flooding cut off parts of the region.

About 110mm of rainfall - more than half the month's average - fell in the 24 hours to 6pm in the South Wairarapa region, flooding low-lying areas, bringing rivers to a rage and forcing people from their homes.

By evening, floods had cut off the small township of Martinborough and left the towns of Carterton and Greytown drenched and sodden.

"There is surface flooding all over the show, rural roads closed, and others only usable with extreme care," said Rian van Schalkwyk, Wellington Regional Council's manager of emergency management.

"At the moment the soil is absolutely drenched, which may lead to more landslips. We're concerned when the rain comes back, we'll have a lot more problems, and we'll be monitoring closely overnight."

The South Wairarapa and Masterton civil defence emergency teams remained on alert last night. The Kapiti Coast team were on alert yesterday, but stood down at 1pm.

The early morning downpour caused the Huangarua River in Martinborough to rise from about 2.5m to 4.5m, much to the alarm of a couple sleeping riverside in their car.

"They called police at 5.07am and had woken up to water in the car up to the bottom of their feet," said Detective Sergeant Bill Van Woerkom of Masterton. "They managed to get the car running but they couldn't go anywhere and the water was rising at quite a rate."

The water in the car rose to the level of the glove box and police told the pair to stand on the rooftop.

Two Carterton fire officers tried to help but their fire engines got stuck in the deluge. All four had to be taken by helicopter to higher ground.

Floods also threatened properties in Porirua, Carterton and Masterton, where homes were evacuated. Four houses close to the Ruamahanga River in the South Wairarapa were also abandoned overnight, with fears the river could burst its banks.

Meanwhile in Wellington, a landslip on State Highway 2 brought commuter chaos to those heading between the capital and the Hutt Valley. It was later cleared, but not before rush hour tested the patience of drivers stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Wind gusts up to 100km/h in the city blew roof parts off several homes and gusts of 141km/h in Cook Strait accompanied 7m swells that halted all ferry crossings.

MetService forecaster Mark Pascoe said although most of the heavy rain had passed through by 6pm, more was expected today.

"There's another low-pressure system developing near the East Cape overnight and spreading south."

He said there could be some heavy showers from this afternoon through to early on Friday.

Fog hit Auckland Airport yesterday for the second time this week but did not cause major disruption.