Evacuations in Waihi and flooding closes SH29

State Highway 29 in Eastern Waikato is closed due to flooding and a severe downpour has caused flooding at Waihi Beach in western Bay of Plenty.

Fire and Emergency says evacuations are underway in Waihi, where the northern end of the beachside town has flooded.

Shift manager Ryan Geen said they had responded to 10 callouts to flooding and assisted with multiple evacuations.

Five fire engines were there, all volunteer brigades, including a crew from Katikati, he said.

The first callout came in about 2pm and the water was subsiding, Geen said.

Waihi Beach RSA Manager Mel Gearon said they had about 20 evacuees this evening after torrential rain caused flash flooding in the coastal township this afternoon.

She told Checkpoint the torrential downpour flooded several pensioner flats. She estimated about 15 homes would be uninhabitable tonight.

Those residents would be staying with others in the community or were going to accommodation like local campgrounds, she said.

Gearon said they were all doing well and the RSA had a full buffet for dinner.

Western Bay of Plenty ward councillor Allan Sole said it flooded rapidly.

Holiday baches have been inundated and some units for older residents were evacuated, he said.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s Civil Defence duty manager Peter Watson said residents in 11 units for the elderly were safe and sheltering at the local RSA.

Waihi Beach community board chair Ross Goudie said water was flowing over stormwater ponds, across a main road in the northern part of the settlement and into a low-lying area.

There were a lot of houses in that area and the area’s stormwater infrastructure could not keep up with major flooding, Goudie said.

Police said the road near Te Poi was likely to remain shut for several hours.

An alternative route is available.

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for much of Waikato, Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga.

The warning said the storms were expected to be accompanied by “very heavy rain” that could cause surface of flash flooding, and make driving conditions dangerous.

The storms were moving southeast from offshore Matakana Island, and expected near Te Puke and Papamoa after 3pm, and near Rotoehu and Pongakawa Valley before 4pm.

Heavy rain and strong wind had been expected in Northland and Auckland today, but downpours in those areas were not as severe as forecast and warnings were lifted before the afternoon.