About sixty households in the Waitotara township were evacuated on Saturday, with those people going to commercial accommodation or friends and family.
South Taranaki District Council staff are there at the moment, checking houses to see if people can return.
Four households in the Waitotara Valley asked for evacuation. Twohave been taken out by helicopter. The Air Force tried to rescue two others on Saturday night, but was turned back by bad weather. Their situation, and any other possibly critical situation in the valley, is being assessed by air.
Waitotara Valley roads are probably closed in many places, Taranaki Regional Council duty emergency management officer Gary Bedford said.
Flood waters have dropped a lot today, but the Waitotara River bridge in the township took a hammering overnight. Engineers are assessing it today and it cannot be used.
SH3 between Waitotara and Wanganui is likely to have suffered slips and further damage. About 800 homes across South Taranaki are without power, due to flooding of a Wanganui substation and lines damaged by trees.
People have been asked not to travel today, unless they really have to.
