Napier flooding: Rotorua woman stranded after deluge

Torrential rain and flooding in Napier has turned a weekend away into a longer stay for one Rotorua woman.

Angela-Claire Gelissen, who is staying with her sister in Napier, woke today to find their street flooded.

"It's like a lake. You can't even tell where the footpath is or the road is, if you go out it's actually knee-deep," she said.

Napier flooding. Photo / Supplied

The torrential rain that saturated Napier yesterday - turning streets into rivers - is the second wettest day on record in 150 years.

Locals woke to the aftermath of yesterday's deluge, which resulted in people having to evacuate and left more than 3000 homes without power.

Another downpour is forecast from 3pm this afternoon from Hawke's Bay north to Coromandel.

Gelissen was due to get a bus back to Rotorua today but is stuck in Napier until the water has drained.

"We're all stuck, my sister and her husband couldn't go to work this morning, we're all stranded.

Angela-Claire Gelissen, who is staying with her sister in Napier, woke today to find their street flooded. Photo / Supplied

"They've said we have to stay put because it's expected to be heavy rain again this afternoon, so it will be a little bit longer I would say."

She said the rain yesterday seemed like "normal, everyday rainfall" so was shocked to see the "devastation" this morning.

"There are people in the street across from us who have lost their homes. The fire brigade was going up and down, clearing out people and evacuating. We count ourselves lucky my sister's home hasn't been affected.

"There's a couple of neighbours out with their dogs, throwing sticks and there was one young boy on a kayak. We've been told not to play in the water though because there might be sewage and stuff."

Gelissen said lockdown earlier this year had helped prepare them for today's situation with plenty of board games, puzzles and movies on the cards.

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise last night declared a state of emergency with weather experts calling yesterday's event "record-breaking" and now officially the second wettest day in the city since records began.

A Rotorua woman is trapped in Napier after the street she is staying on flooded. Photo / Supplied

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said yesterday's downpour was 423 per cent of what was normally seen in the whole month of November - in a single day.

As of about 10pm yesterday, 237mm of rain had been recorded since 9am.
Niwa said the wettest hour on record, since 1995, is 54mm.