Water levels are now dropping and bridges and roads are being inspected in Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay, where flooding has followed three days of heavy rain, and people are being asked to stay off the roads.
Two people are dead and another is critically injured after three serious crashes in Hawke’s Bay as more heavy rain and flooding hit the region at the.
Residents in the Tai Rāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka are being asked to evacuate as the Waipaoa River rises, with flooding also affecting the Wairoa area in Hawke's Bay.