By Adam Ray
State Highway 2 has been closed in the Bay of Plenty tonight with heavy rain causing flooding and rivers threatening to burst their banks.
Residents in parts of the Central North Island are being told not to leave home unless they have to.
More than 200mm of rain have already fallen in parts of the Bay, turning swollen rivers into torrents.
Flooding has closed SH2 at Waimana near Opotiki and driving conditions are hazardous; Metservice says the severe weather could cause further closures.
The culprit is a slow-moving front sitting over much of the North Island leading to severe weather warnings for Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty, parts of East Cape and Taupo.
Farmers have shifted stock to higher ground; the regional council says high tide tonight could push rivers to breaking point.
“Given that and river mouths could have water from the ranges trying to escape – that could cause problems,” says Bronwyn Campbell of the BOP Regional Council.
Other parts of the North Island have already copped it; heavy rain in Wellington left Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert complaining about the waterlogged pitch; in Auckland Tamaki Dr was flooded last night – in some places it was knee-deep; strong winds snapped a boat from its moorings and wrecked it on the shoreline, the owner says his pride and joy never had a chance against the fierce winds.
“Moorings were replaced 12 months ago and in good shape; something hard got them,” Rob Erskine says.
The only good news for the rain-soaked and wind-battered North Island is that the front will weaken from 9am tomorrow – although Metservice says rain will stick around until Monday.
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