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Rain, lightning strikes and power cuts have affected the region this morning with MetService issuing further weather warnings.
Bay of Plenty, west of Te Puke, Coromandel Peninsula and Tairāwhiti have been placed under orange heavy rain warnings until 3pm Friday.
Between 140 and 180mm of rain is expected to fallin that time, with peak rates of 15 to 25mm per hours and more thunderstorms possible.
MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker said the prolonged rainfall in Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and Gisborne caused by the low-pressure system from the Tasman Sea may cause flooding and slips even if warning criteria were not reached.
The heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.
Lightning storm captured near Whakatāne this morning. Photo / Roz Anderson Photography
While there is no rain warnings for Rotorua, there was still a chance of more thunderstorms and intense rainfall today.
Due to surface flooding caution is advised for travel on State Highway 30 between Cookson Rd and Rotokawa Rd near Rotorua, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said.
Thames-Coromandel District Council this morning warned motorists travelling on the region’s roads to watch for flooding and debris.
The region woke to intense thunder and lightning strikes this morning with 391 strikes recorded across Rotorua and Bay of Plenty, and off the coast overnight.
MetService meteorologist John Law said in the last 24 hours, Rotorua received 64mm of rain, Tauranga 22mm, Whakatāne 37mm and Whangamata 11mm, however, most of the rain had been since the early hours of this morning.
Two hundred lightning strikes were recorded on land in the Bay of Plenty overnight, and 391 in total when including strikes off the coast, he said.
Power outages
According to Unison’s outages page 1689 properties were without power in Rotorua across seven suburbs; Rotorua central, Utuhina, Victoria, Fairy Springs, Glenholme, Hillcrest and Mangakakahi from around 5.15am.
As of 10.45am all but approximately 120 customers had had power restored.
The outages were under investigation, Unison said.
