Rotorua has been hit with lightning, thunder and heavy rainfall resulting in flooding.
The storm Wednesday night saw some Rotorua residents scrambling to rescue their valuables as their houses began to flood.
People took to social media posting photos and video of the rising water.
Springfield resident Mandy Rangiwhetu said her garage had completely flooded.
"Everything in my garage is basically stuffed and my car got flooded, but not my truck."
Another resident said: "Kitchen Bay window flooded inside house!!!!! Flooding ceiling behind kitchen!! Damage galore."
According to MetService, 39.4mm of rain fell between 8 and 9pm, wreaking havoc in some parts of the region.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said the localised downpour was "a lot of rain" to fall in just one hour.
It was the type of rain that usually accompanies a thunderstorm and could lead to flooding, he said.
There were also 152 lightning strikes during the storm last night.
"That's certainly a lot of lightning for one region," Corrigan said.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said Rotorua crews attended nine callouts in relation to flooding.
That included roads, houses and basements flooding, he said.
Rotorua Lakes Council said they recieved one call about house flooding in Selwyn Rd in Lynmore last night with a further 21 reports about surface flooding and land property flooding at different locations around the city.
The council's Environmental and Infrastructure Solutions deputy chief executive Stavros Michael said 45mm of rain fell in 1.5 hours which put considerable pressure on wastewater pump stations, but there were no overflows.
"Our contractors have been proactively checking areas and clearing debris and this will continue throughout today," he said.
Rotorua Lakes High School has been forced to close for the day due to a power outage. Principal Jon Ward said the outage was probably due to a lightning strike.
Unison relationship manager Danny Gough said at the peak of the storm, 2500 Rotorua homes were without power.
"The outages basically mirrored what the weather did - it was short and sharp," he said.
There were homes affected throughout Rotorua, including Lynmore, Owhata, Fairy Springs and some more rural areas.
"Luckily, there was no major damage to the network," Gough said.
"The rain caused tripping on the network but we didn't get the strong winds which usually cause more damage with fallen trees and branches on lines.
"The outages started about 7.30pm but most customers had their power back on within 25 to 30 minutes."
Meanwhile, MetService has issued a heavy rain watch for Bay of Plenty and Coromandel today.
The forecast is for a period of heavy rain, with isolated thunderstorms and locally heavy downpours.
"Rainfall accumulations could approach short duration warning criteria in localised areas," MetService said.
There is also a risk of severe thunderstorms and locally heavy downpours about parts of the upper North Island."
Today in Rotorua, the forecast is for morning cloud breaking, then showers from afternoon, some heavy with possible thunderstorms and hail.
There will be light winds, then evening southeasterlies. The predicted high is 21C and the low 9C.
The council said in heavy rain stormwater networks cannot pipe the water away fast enough which can water to pool until it can drain away.
Heavy storms can carry debris, silt, and leaves that can accumulate on top of drains, preventing water from draining. If residents see or have concerns about blocked drains on the road side, they should call the council so a job can be logged to clear the path for stormwater.
When there is surface flooding on roads, people should drive slowly to stop water being displaced from the road onto properties, and for the safety of themselves and others.
Rotorua Lakes Council operations staff attended the following sites last night:
• Haynes Cres
• Kauri St
• Petrie St
• Amun Place
• Old Taupo Rd
• Ranolf St
• Devon St and Old Taupo Rd Intersection
• Devon St and Lytton St Intersection
• Moncur St
• Ford Rd and Malfroy Rd Intersection
• Suzanne St
• Pandora St
• Selwyn St
• Sunset Rd
• Malfroy Rd and Westbrook Ave Intersection
• Phobe Place
• Old Taupo Rd (Passed onto Higgins as the State Highway contractor)
• Malfroy Rd
• Devon St West
• Homedale St
Council contractors will be undertaking the following work today:
• Inspecting unsealed roads following the heavy rain. These include Millar Road, Lichenstein Rd, Rotoehu Rd, Maleme Rd, Galatos Rd and Kaharoa Rd.
• Re-checking all road sites attended last night to make sure grates are clear and there is no debris on the road.
• Removing sediment from Clayton Rd that was washed off a driveway.
• Checking the McDowell St construction site to make sure it is safe and tidy.
Councillors hear of 'a Rotorua success we should all be proud of'.
