Fifteen Whakatane residents have been cleared to return home after a 10-metre stopbank breach was repaired this morning.
Seven houses in Fortunes and Paroa roads were evacuated yesterday when a large hole was found in a Whakatane River stopbank after heavy rain and flooding.
Emergency pumps ran through the night but the breach was now repaired, with strengthening work to continue today, Civil Defence controller Diane Turner said.
Most roads reopened today but several schools and the Whakatane boat ramp remained closed, she said.
The Whakatane River rose from 1m on Friday to a peak of 7.1m late Sunday morning. Since then, rain had eased and levels were dropping.
Surface floodwater was expected to remain for some days on low-lying rural land until drainage systems could remove it.
NZPA