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Another storm brought down trees and caused flooding in the north of the North Island last night.
The wind and rain caused minor flooding in Whangarei and some tree branches were down in some parts of Auckland.
Households in western Bay of Plenty were left without power this
morning while three homes were flooded overnight in Stanmore Bay, north of Auckland.
Powerlines were knocked down in Massey, west Auckland, and Milford on the North Shore and firefighters helped residents with leaky roofs.
Yesterday a boat which sunk off Ti Point in Rodney was hauled into land and pumped out.
Elsewhere, high winds over the Kaimai ranges blew a shed over and a fire communications spokesman said pigs, who had been housed in the shed, were "all over the place".
Transit New Zealand is dealing with minor slips but police say no roads are closed.
MetService said the heavy rain had now eased in Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula. It was expected to move off the Bay of Plenty around midday.
In Wellington, police said flooding on roads and reduced visibility was causing problems for morning commuters.
Far North motorists are being warned to take care on local roads because heavy rain yesterday is likely to have caused more damage to road surfaces hit by storms in March and July.
Far North district council roading manager Greg Ingham said the council had been struggling to finish repairs and get its roading network back to an acceptable standard after two major storms in less than four months.
Although yesterday's rain did not appear to have caused any major problems, it would affect road surfaces and slip areas already weakened by the two earlier floods.
No major flooding or damage was reported in already soggy Far North and central Northland areas yesterday as they soaked up more heavy rain.
Flooding lapped at highway edges around Kaeo and at Kaingaroa, east of Kaitaia, but all highways in the region remained open.
Kaeo, ravaged by floods in March and again last month, escaped another inundation although it had 77.5mm of rain in 12 hours to late yesterday.
Northland Regional Council hydrologist Dale Hansen said 14mm an hour was falling on the town at one stage, similar to Ohaeawai, near Kaikohe, which had 72mm in the same period.
Kerikeri's western hills had 82.5mm, and Puhipuhi north of Whangarei recorded 70mm.
Whangarei got 45mm and Kaitaia 38.5mm. on the west coast, Opononi recorded 23mm.
People facing hardship as a result of storms and flooding in the Far North, Whangarei and Kaipara districts in July can apply for help from a Northland-wide mayoral relief fund.
The fund has nearly $200,000 to be allocated to house owners, individuals or families whose properties, including farms and orchards, were hit by the July 10-11 storm and whose insurance did not cover damage or loss.
Whangarei District Council recovery manager Pauline Rose said insurance did not cover damage in some cases and residents in that situation could apply to the fund for help by filling out a form and sending it to their local council.
Eligibility criteria are outlined in the forms, available from all council offices. Applications for assistance must be made by August 31.
The government gave $100,000 to the fund, and $12,000 came from local businesses, $13,000 from residents and the Mayor of Wanganui and $30,000 from Auckland City.
Contact Energy gave $25,000 and $18,000 came from individuals.
- with NEWSTALK ZB
