Mokau’s Tai Iorangi (back left), with sons Louis, Jeziah and Hingtoi, helped clear the roads on Sunday morning. Photo / Denise Piper
A Northland family says they were just doing what they could to help their Mokau community when clearing slips on the road by hand.
The coastal area northeast of Whangārei was inundated by heavy rain on Sunday, leading to widespread flooding, “pretty horrendous” slips and bridge washouts.
Ōakura resident Terry Lang said the rainfall was the worst he had seen in more than 40 years, with his wife Elaine measuring 289mm in her rain gauge on Sunday.
Mokau resident Tai Iorangi - hailed as a ‘legend’ and community hero after clearing roads by hand - agreed the flooding was the worst he had seen.
As daylight broke on Sunday, Iorangi said he could see roads, paddocks and nearby land blocks completely covered in water.
He helped open up Mokau Marae, next to his house, so local residents impacted by the flooding had somewhere safe to stay.
Iorangi and his three boys then drove the roads in his four-wheel-drive, clearing trees with a chainsaw so at least one lane was available, messaging friends in central Whangārei who were doing the same thing from the main road to Mokau.
“Every time something like this happens, our main focus is to get the road clear for our kaumātua and kuia, if they need to get into town for any emergencies, if emergency services need to get to them, or just so we can go and check on them,” he said.
With a background in roading, Iorangi said he is always careful to ensure the situation is safe before any work is done.
The family’s work meant once contractors were able to get through to the area, they could focus on clearing the largest slips, he said.
Ōakura Bay Store owner Nena Rogers called Iorangi a “legend” and a hero to the community.
While her store was safe from the flooding and slips, her garage and storage area were inundated, first by floodwaters on Sunday morning and secondly by sewage when the power was restored at 4.20pm on Sunday.
On Monday morning, Rogers had not had time to clear out her place - she was busy opening the shop so locals could get supplies, including petrol and diesel.
She was disappointed low-lying houses in Ōakura were so badly flooded, as she has been urging Whangārei District Council to create a wetland area with ponds to help take excess waterflow.
The project is still in the planning but Rogers said the ponds need to be deep to make a difference to the waterflow.
Along the Ōakura foreshore, the flooding’s impact was worsened by slips which spread debris, trees and orange clay.
Ōakura Community Hall - renovated with the help of volunteer labour 18 months ago - was badly damaged by a slip.
Nearby, another slip damaged the detached garage of a holiday home but spared the house itself, said owner Stephen Wood.
“It’s pretty horrendous. The whole hillside has been degloved, right to the top. All the dirt and trees ended up in the garage, filling the garage up, and pushed the tractor and boat through the door,” he said.
“Luckily the house, so far, is okay; we’re very fortunate.”
Wood said Airbnb guests were in his home, and heard the slip come down early on Sunday morning.
They evacuated, and awoke neighbours who also left, he said.
Waiting for insurance assessors, Wood said there was little he could do. He planned to leave the area before more bad weather forced more road closures.
Northland Federated Farmers president Colin Hannah said most inland farmers were “reasonably okay,” with holidaymakers in coastal areas hit hardest.
His main concern is the severe wind and heavy rain expected this week.
Hannah said farmers were caught off‑guard by the intensity of Sunday’s downpour — his own forecast predicted 5mm overnight, but he received 100mm — prompting him to issue an early morning weather alert to the Federated Farmers executive team, who act as Civil Defence eyes and ears on the ground.
He emphasised that Northland farmers are highly resilient and generally know exactly how to prepare for extreme conditions. Their focus now is on monitoring what’s still to come.
A developing tropical low is helping fuel an unsettled week of weather for Northland, with MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows warning that conditions remain highly changeable as the system approaches.
Northland remains under an active Heavy Rain Watch until 6pm on Tuesday as showers persist. Severe thunderstorms are also possible this evening, bringing localised downpours of 25–40 mm/h.
On Tuesday, heavy rain is expected, with strong easterlies likely to affect northern and eastern coastal areas.
By Wednesday, the tropical low is forecast to move southeast towards the North Island, bringing further heavy rain and strengthening east to northeast winds.
There is moderate confidence that rainfall in northern and eastern Northland will reach warning criteria, and that northeast winds could rise to severe gale in exposed places.
Thursday carries greater uncertainty as the low’s exact path and strength remain unclear. Current guidance suggests it will pass over or near the North Island, but there is low confidence that Northland will see warning‑level rain or damaging northeast winds.
Burrows said the situation could change quickly, and significant adjustments to the forecast remain possible. She advised people to stay up-to-date with MetService’s latest warnings.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.