Flooding on farmland at the base of the Awakino Gorge on Tuesday. Photo: Supplied / Bree Joyce
A number of roads remain closed and two central North Island towns cut off, following a day of heavy rain which caused slips and flooding.
Early on Tuesday morning, slips in Awakino Gorge left vehicles stuck and farmland in the area flooded.
The bad weather led to Ruapehu District Council partially activating an emergency operations centre - but this had now been stepped down to a monitoring phase.
Two townships, Matiere and Tokorima remain cut off due to road damage.
The worst of the weather was forecast to ease as the evening continued, but a narrow southerly band of rain was expected to bring heavy rain to the Taumarunui area on Tuesday evening.
Ruapehu controller Clive Manley, said while the worst was over, there was a big clean up to be done on local roads and State Highways with multiple slips and blocked roads.
Council road contractors were responding to multiple local slip outages around the district which would take some time to clear, Manley said.
NZTA advised the major road outage on SH4 between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti would not be cleared for a couple of days.
"Council's recovery focus over the coming days will be on the roading network," Manley said.
"With the number of slips people are asked to be patient as road contractors move around the district."
Manley suggested anyone who was travelling in the region should check the NZTA site to make sure the roads they needed were clear.
"We really encourage people to avoid travel if you can, otherwise really plan it well."
Flooding on SH43 Forgotten Highway at Tokirima. Photo: JUSTINE VAUGHAN / SUPPLIED
Waikato river levels expected to rise
Hamilton City Council was monitoring low-lying areas of Hamilton as already-high Waikato River levels were expected to rise further overnight.
The council's safety and resilience manager Kelvin Powell said it was taking a precautionary approach.
"Be especially careful while river levels are high, do not enter floodwaters, and remember our awa can have hidden dangers including steep drop-offs, strong currents and hidden objects like tree branches. These dangers increase following bad weather."
Powell said staff had visited properties known to be prone to flooding during, but there was no known risk to any houses.
"We've been around and done some reassurance visits and knocked on the doors and just made sure everyone's okay."
Powell said there was the potential for the Waikato River levels to reach 16 metres, which had not been seen in the city since 2017.
He said Hamilton City Council was working closely with other agencies as water was released through Waikato River dams.
Residents could expect high river levels to continue into Wednesday, he added.
River paths were closed from Awatere Avenue to Ann St, Pine Beach to Fairfield Esplanade, Te Hikuwai Reserve, Days Park to Swarbrick Park, and the lower path below Memorial Park.
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