World champion surfer Ella Williams' family has been wading through their Whangamata surf shop, which is knee-deep in water, as the rest of the Coromandel region suffers road closures, slips and more flooding.
Owners Dean and Janine Williams told local businessman Daniel Davie they had been traipsing round in waterknee deep since they arrived in the shop.
The water has since slowly subsided.
Ella and her family in their surf shop. Photo / Daniel Davie
Ella Williams scored a massive breakthrough in her surfing career last year with a win on the World Surf League Qualifying Series circuit in August.
She clocked up the women's Medoc Ocean Lacanau Pro in France.
Davie, who owns the nearby Stirling Sports, said his shop escaped relatively unscathed with just a small amount of water coming through the front door.
He'd never seen the surf shop so flooded before, he said.
"There's boards floating round and everything. All their shop is munted."
A Thames-Coromandel District Council spokesperson said wastewater services were also under pressure and advised people not to flush if they didn't have to.
The town was also out of petrol.
A Civil Defence centre has also been set up at the Whangamata Town Hall.
Ella Williams, 21, pictured in August last year after winning her maiden World Surf League Qualifying Series event. Photo/File
