Up to a dozen people were in the vehicles at the time of the crash.

The skies are beginning to clear after last night's storm, but the respite may be short-lived, with thunderstorms and more heavy rain forecast for later today.

The Sundaise Festival in Waihi has been flooded out.

In the midst of all the flooding, firefighters stepped in to rescue cat.

State Highway 1 north of Maromaku is completely blocked.

Tongariro bus crash survivor Tom Hickey asked his rescuers who paid for their help - their answer surprised him.

Thames & Coromandel District Mayor Sandra Goudie discusses the state of the region after wild weather hit overnight. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Children leaving the Hunua Falls Camp due to heavy rain and flooding today were helped by police, the army, civil defence - even a Cabinet Minister.

Emergency services are at a crash on Mt Cook.

A house fire in Whanganui this afternoon led emergency services to cordon off a street. Barrack St was cordoned off from Somme Parade

A woman has been injured after being hit by a truck on a Mid Canterbury farm today.

The woman's car was hit by a truck pulling out and she "somehow made a left-hand turn'' into the building.

A police spokeswoman said the incident has left six people injured, including one person in critical condition and two in serious condition.

A trapped driver has been freed after a truck and trailer carrying onions rolled into a ditch in Pukekohe.

A man has died after an accident with farming equipment in Waikato.

Police are at the crash in Central Otago, near the intersection of Springvale Rd and SH85.

A man has been seriously injured after being hit by a car on a rural road near Katikati.

Multiple passengers have reportedly been critically hurt, with two dead, in a three-vehicle crash.

The quad bike rolled at Wreck Bay Rd in Ahipara this afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the accident, near Kinloch, just after 1pm.

Emergency services are tackling a house fire in Hamilton.

The search for a diver reported overdue in the Marlborough Sounds has been called off for the night.

A Flaxmere man found guilty of killing his 2-year-old stepson yesterday will leave behind an unborn child.

The jury verdict was returned at the High Court in Napier today after six hours of deliberations.

A motorcyclist who collided with a school bus south of Whangarei was flown to the Middlemore Hospital with spinal injuries. The crash

The pilot involved in the Melbourne air crash was under investigation for a previous incident that had been deferred three times due to "workload".

It may be wondered whether a country of NZ's size and population is well served by such a fragmented civil defence organisation.

Police have named the man who died in a car crash on State Highway 3 north of New Plymouth yesterday.

Plane buffs are devastated after bad weather forced the cancellation of Wings Over Wairarapa, but none more so than the organisers.

One person has died, and a number of others are injured, after a mini-van rolled south of Spring Creek in the Marlborough District this afternoon.