A view from inside the Edgecumbe cordon

Just within the cordon, Bridge St is swallowed by flood waters. Photo/Stephen Parker

Driving across the bridge into Edgecumbe it was a shock to see the road ahead disappear, swallowed up by murky water.

I knew it was coming, but it still took me by surprise. Just moments earlier we'd been waiting behind a row of cones and security guards, beneath a clear sky with no sign of the flooding.

Rotorua Daily Post photographer Stephen Parker and I were part of a media group taken beyond the cordon today as Prime Minister Bill English made his visit to the town.

Police tape, which had been broken during the evacuation, hung from a lamp post, and rubbish which had floated into the streets lined the gutters.

The entire road was carpeted in mud and silt, and a lone boat was left moored on the footpath.

Looking down Bridge St, some of the houses were just roofs, tall garden fences barely poking above the top of the water.

There was so much to take in, as I tried not to trip over a fence post which was now lying in the middle of the road.

Feeling the warmth of the sun, it was hard to take in that this destruction had come from rain.

Our next stop was College Rd, here the water was still flowing like rapids through part of the street.

Boulders had washed in from the river and more gravel covered the tarseal, making it look like a riverbed.

The houses where water had receded were stained with water marks up to the window sills.

Suddenly a warning came through and Civil Defence began whispering about the safety of the Prime Minister.

It was then I realised the danger that came with such immense amounts of water.

We were hurried back to our cars, all trying to turn in a street that was half buried beneath water.