Heavy rain and wind in the night has turned into a state of emergency in Te Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay this morning.
Residents this morning are being asked to avoid travel unless it is necessary.
State Highway 35 is closed north of Gisborne, Okitu to Tolaga Bay, Tikitiki to Te Araroa, and State Highway 2 is also closed west of Wairoa township between Mitchell Rd and Kiwi Valley Rd.
In the last few minutes, State Highway 51 has been closed between Clive and Awatoto, because the road is impassable at the bridge near Waitangi Park due to flooding.
Tairāwhiti Civil Defence warns high intensity rainfall has eased, but not stopped.
It’s expected to continue through until Friday night, which will impact how long river levels take to recede.
MetService says the region can expect 8mm/hr until 2pm, then 6mm/hr until 6pm.
Te Tai Rāwhiti
Tairāwhiti Civil Defence has had reports of trampolines, fences and street lights blown over in the wind. People were warned to stay off the roads to avoid surface flooding, felled trees and slips.
In the early hours of the morning police were knocking door to door in areas of Te Tai Rāwhiti to begin evacuations.
The Hikuwai river peaked around 2am at 11.57 metres, with the Waipaoa at Kanakanai at eight metres at 6am and the Waimata at 8.16m around 1.30am.
The Te Ārai river has remained stable at two metres.
Te Karaka
In Te Karaka self-evacuations began when Waipaoa River rose to 7.68m and continued to rise.
Police were sent to move the 700 civilians who live in Te Karaka, given the town would be completely inaccessible when the river rises to 8m.
People of Te Karaka were encouraged to relocate or go to the welfare centre at Te Poho o Rāwiri Marae in Kaiti.
Te Matau-a-Māui
In Hawke’s Bay a state of emergency was declared in Hastings (5.31am this morning) due to coastal inundation in Haumoana and police were knocking on doors to tell affected residents to evacuate their homes.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst told RNZ around 140 homes were told to evacuate last night.
“We’d just like people to stay in town with their friends and family, or at the hall, there’s no need to rush back.”
The town had practiced this back in March according to Halzehurst.
Civilians were told to get prepared, taking bags for their families with enough supplies and to immediately contact emergency services if at risk.
A digger was to be moved on site to unblock culverts that help drain water this morning and staff would be on the ground to ensure the pump station is working.
Wairoa
Wairoa District Council called a state of emergency at 6 am, with rainfall heavier than expected and rivers expected to keep rising.
Power is out in Wairoa out of concern for the power substations.
Four Civil Defence evacuation centres have been activated in Wairoa. For those in the township side of the river, evacuation centres are Wairoa War Memorial Hall and Presbyterian Hall on Queen Street. And for North Clyde evacuation centres are at Hinemihi Marae (the end of Ruataniwha Road) and Taihoa Marae on SH2 in Te Uhi (Below Te Uhi Hill).
Other regions of East Coast have also been impacted by the severe weather conditions.
The wind has slowed down. However, significant rainfall is still predicted to continue.
Update: A previous version of this article said a “state of emergency” had been declared in Tairāwhiti. This was inaccurate and our article has been updated to reflect that multiple local states of emergency have been declared, as opposed to a regional state of emergency. We apologise for any confusion we’ve caused.