The heavy rain warnings in place in Bay of Plenty. Photo: MetService screenshot
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has activated its flood room protocols as it prepares for a downpour.
MetService has issued an orange heavy rain warning for Bay of Plenty until 11pm on Wednesday, with 80mm to 110mm of rain on top of what has already fallen expected.
In a statement on social media the Bay of Plenty Regional Council said it was reacting as a result of the wet weather.
"This means our flood team is set up to monitor the situation 24/7 as it develops. We will be providing real-time river level information to supporting agencies (such as local councils and Waka Kotahi), to assist with planning and responding to local communities.
"We'll also have our flood monitoring team out in the field. It's their job to be the eyes and ears on the ground, checking flood defences (such as stopbanks and floodwalls), monitoring river levels, flows and rainfall and reporting back to the Flood Room."
The council said members of its operations team were also out in the community, checking the condition of the flood infrastructure, assessing the weather conditions in key areas and pumping out flood waters from any drainage canals where needed.
"Your local council is also monitoring the situation and will be providing updates via their websites and social media channels around roading, blocked culverts/drains, and water/stormwater/wastewater."
Heaviest rain in Auckland CBD
Meanwhile, central Auckland bore the brunt of the rain earlier on Wednesday, MetService says.
Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Northland, Auckland and Great Barrier Island (until 2pm), Waitomo, Waikato and Taupō (until 6pm), Bay of Plenty (until 11pm) and Tongariro National Park (until 10pm).
MetService meteorologist Samkelo Magwala said all those areas had received a "decent amount" of rain overnight.
It was heaviest in Auckland, particularly in the central city, he said.
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"Some stations in Auckland have recorded about 15.5mm of rain in the period of an hour, some even as high as 21mm of rain," he said.
There was a possibility of flooding with that amount of rain, Magwala said.
The band of rain would move eastwards throughout the day, easing before another band was due to ramp up again in the afternoon.
Gisborne was not under a weather warning, but the rain was heading that way later this afternoon, he said.
After Wednesday, high pressure would begin to build, Magwala said, "giving us some more settled weather for a couple of days".
Taumarunui and Taihape north of Ohakune, as well as Taranaki are also under heavy rain watches until Wednesday.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi reported flooding on State Highway 25 Whitianga to Tairua on Wednesday morning with delays and detours expected until further notice.
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