File photo Photo: 123RF
Gisborne and the eastern Bay of Plenty are next in line for heavy rain - after the lower South Island was battered during the week.
MetService has extended its heavy rain warnings for both regions through until tomorrow evening.
Up to 250 millimetres of rain is forecast for the area north of Gisborne, and the same for Bay of Plenty east of Matata.
It has also added less severe rain watches for the area south of Gisborne down to Napier, Bay of Plenty west of Matata including Rotorua, and the Coromandel peninsula.
Forecaster Karl Loots earlier said while Gisborne had had a break from heavy rain after a very wet summer, this was a significant amount to be expecting.
"The region has had a bit of respite from the severe weather that they had during the summer time. This is still extremely severe weather, and very heavy rainfall expected to fall particularly during the overnight period, and in the ranges as well."
He said people should stay up to date with weather warnings on the MetService website.
Radar update
— MetService (@MetService) September 23, 2023
The rain band is mostly offshore now, but north Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and east Bay of Plenty remain under Orange Heavy Rain Warnings until tomorrow afternoon
Keep an eye on our Severe Weather Warnings here: https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 pic.twitter.com/kD84ISB2mp
However Gisborne Civil Defence controller Ben Green said their telemetry data was not showing a risk to low-lying areas from the forecast rain.
He said after a dry month, the rain would be a chance for residents to replenish their residential water tanks.
In the Bay of Plenty, the main concern is rising river levels.
Farmers in low-lying areas there were being advised to move stock to higher ground as four swollen rivers reached the first warning level.
The Whakatāne, Tauranga, Ōtara and Waioeka rivers are running high after heavy rain.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council said a dedicated flood emergency team was monitoring the situation.
Heavy rain has also fallen on the East Coast with more than 100mm of rain at Ruatoria in the past 24 hours.
MetService said the area north of Tolaga Bay could see up to 220 millimetres of rain from 9am Sunday into Monday afternoon.
Posting on Saturday night on X, NIWA forecaster Ben Noll said parts of Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and the East Cape could see one to two months' worth of rain on Sunday and Monday.
Not again! Another atmospheric river is headed for the eastern North Island of New Zealand.
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) September 23, 2023
This region has been slammed with extreme events over the last year and the recent change in climate drivers (toward El Niño) has seen conditions trend drier.
However, a La Niña-like… pic.twitter.com/IQu904tr2H
The heavy rain warning for the central North Island, including Whanganui, Taupō, and the Bay of Plenty, was lifted at 4am on Sunday.
Clean-up begins in Queenstown after wild weather
Meanwhile, tourists arriving in Queenstown have been rethinking their plans since wild weather lashed parts of the South Island.
The aftermath of torrential rain in Queenstown, which caused a local state of emergency to be declared on 22 September, 2023. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Nearly 90mm of rain fell over a 24 hour period in the town, resulting in flooding and slips, which forced more than 100 residents from their homes.
From Boston in the United States, Benjamin Skypeck and his friends arrived in Queenstown a few days ago for a ski trip.
But he said the weather had put a dampener on their plans.
"We were planning on a snowboarding and skiing day, but then we looked that Coronet, it got washed out this week," Skypeck said.
"Then the Remarkables was supposed to be open but the road wasn't open because of the flooding ... so we weren't allowed to go."
A man working in a hostel in Queenstown said the place reached full capacity, sheltering dozens of evacuees who arrived during flooding this week.
More than 100 people in the southern resort town were forced to leave their homes as heavy flooding hit the area.
Marco de Mill was working at Nomads Backpacker, on Church Street, when dozens of evacuees arrived.
He said it was chaotic.
"It was like one-thirty, two in the morning, I was cleaning and the council started coming in with everyone who had to get evacuated," de Mill said.
"It was a bit hectic - had to get everyone in really last minute."
The Queenstown District Council said all affected people had been moved to accommodation while cleanups were done.
And teams were also working with geotechnical engineers to reopen the affected roads safely and as soon as possible.
Naseby residents asked to urgently conserve water
The Central Otago District Council is asking people in the small town of Naseby to urgently conserve water.
It said high water usage on Friday night had impacted water storage and asked people to ensure all unnecessary water usage was reduced, including turning off irrigation systems.
If water was not conserved, a boil water notice might be put in place, it said.
Omakau is also currently under a conserve water notice, the council said.
Tourists stranded, flights missed
Moteliers in Haast say dozens of tourists and locals have been stranded by the closure of the main road between the West Coast town and Makarora.
The 80-kilometre stretch of State Highway 6 has been closed since Thursday morning due to multiple slips caused by heavy rainfall.
The manager of Haast River Motels & Holiday Park, Tania Frisby, said she had about 30 people cancel their rooms or leave early in the past two days.
Some people had missed international flights while others had stayed one night in Haast before taking the long way round - driving nearly 12 hours - to get to Queenstown airport.
Frisby said the road closure was terrible timing, with both the New Zealand and Australian school holidays underway.
