Water, power, roads cut in Gisborne

The east coast of the North Island is facing a massive cleanup after torrential rains over night cut roads, electricity and the water supply.

Gisborne and parts of the East Coast appear to have been particularly badly hit with over 300mm of rain falling in some spots in the past 24 hours while Hawke's Bay also felt the brunt of the storms.

Gisborne itself had recorded about 180mm of rain while near Tokomaru Bay, both Hikuwai and Te Puia Springs had received a massive 350mm.

Gisborne civil defence officer Richard Steele said some people were still stranded by the rain but nobody was believed to be in danger.

One of the worst-hit areas was just north of Tolaga Bay where 15 people had to be evacuated.

At the peak of the rainfall, 32mm was recorded in an hour at Hikuwai.

This morning the city of Gisborne was completely isolated with roads north and south closed.

The east coast road was even worse and not likely to fully open for days.

There were reports a rescue helicopter was being sent to try and reach some families trapped on a hill but no further details were available.

A number of areas have been left without power and the water supply to Gisborne was cut off after the pipeline was damaged where it crossed the Te Arai River on a suspension bridge.

Mr Steele said an auxillary water plant had been brought on line about 1am and it was hoped to get the water back on around lunchtime.

There should not be an ongoing problem with tap water as there was enough for two days in the city reservoir .

"Nobody will need to water their lawns ," Mr Steele said.

Further north, Tolaga Bay Holiday Park manager Mike Brooker said they had several people stranded in the town.

"There's a lot of surface water around and the road is closed between Gisborne and Tolaga and (north) -- we can't go either way really.

"We've got a few people stuck in cabins who wanted to head home today."

Two people in a tent at the camp had been moved into drier accommodation in a cabin.

Mr Brooker said streams had covered the road and slips were coming down above the town's historic wharf but there were no houses nearby.

Met Service severe weather forecaster Steve Ready said the worst appeared to be over for Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. "The rain has virtually stopped in most of Hawke's Bay.

"There's probably just a few showers left, and the rainfall intensities have dropped right down to less than 5mm an hour in the most vulnerable parts of Gisborne."

Across Hawke's Bay and north to Gisborne and the East Cape, several state highways were today impassable.

The main highway, State Highway 2, was cut between Napier and Gisborne and north from Gisborne towards Matawai -- part way to Opotiki.

A slip on State Highway 5 also cut the route between Napier and Taupo.

Gisborne District Council spokeswoman Sheridan Gundry said at least 50 people had needed evacuation.

Ms Gundry said thousands of people had been expected in the region for the Gisborne Wine and Food Festival tomorrow.

With the roads into the district cut, many would have to stay away. "There will be huge number that won't be there and what the conditions of all the vineyards are after all the rains, I'm not sure."

"There's a major slip on State Highway 35 between Ruatoria and Tikitiki. The whole road. . . we've had a report in this morning to say the slump is so big you could fit a couple of trucks into it."

It was likely to take months to fix that road.

Ms Gundry said the Hikuwai River north of Gisborne was as high as it was during Cyclone Bola when it devastated the region in 1988.

No homes are thought to be threatened by the river.

About 1000 houses in the region were without power.

In Napier, the fire service was busy overnight with calls to help stabilise slips and pump out floodwaters.

Napier station office Ken Cooper said the worst appeared to be over this morning -- it was no longer raining and the fire service was not out on any flood-related work.

But overnight houses on Battery Road were threatened by slips and the fire service had been out on several flooding calls.

- NZPA