Boaties in Whakatane in the eastern Bay of Plenty are being urged to stay away from the sea as the area recovers from the aftermath of a weather thrashing.

Waterlogged North Island areas won't get an immediate reprieve as forecasters warn of more "wet events".

Farmers are working furiously to pump out flooded pastures as they prepare for more rain on top of the weekend's deluge.

As rising floodwaters threatened to wash away his home of four years all Peter Brake could do was wait, watch and hope for the best.

Bay of Plenty flood levels are dropping, but 15 people have been evacuated from their Whakatane homes.

The eastern Bay of Plenty town of Opotiki remains isolated this morning.

Central Punjab, Pakistan's fertile agricultural belt, is now besieged by unprecedented floods.

Bay of Plenty Civil Defence officials are on flood alert, urging people to be prepared for heavy rain during the weekend.

A New Zealand man is missing in a flood-stricken area of northern India.

Over 30 million people have been hit by Pakistan's worst ever floods, with at least 1600 lives lost.

Three-quarters of China's provinces have been hit by floods and more than 1000 people have died or been lost in the severe flooding so far this year.

Heavy rains in the Gisborne area have closed roads and some flood waters have been contaminated by sewage.

Three East Coast families will remain isolated for at least another day after their only road access was washed away by heavy rain yesterday.