A Tolaga Bay family was airlifted to safety this morning due to severe flooding near Gisborne.
Tairawhiti Emergency Management said in a release that two adults and their four-year-old granddaughter were lifted by helicopter after their house flooded and their wool shed was washed away overnight.
The rescue took place at a property on Mangatokerau Road, north of Tolaga Bay near Gisborne.
The three people were reportedly trapped on their roof since about 4am this morning, and all three are now safe and well.
The family had "lost everything", TEM said, although the four-year-old described spending the morning on their roof as "a cool adventure".
TEM group controller John Clarke said the family had lost their home, their woolshed, a work truck, a car, a digger, tractors and trailers.
Two other households nearby on Tauwhareparae Road were flooded also, with 20 people in total evacuated from houses around the area.
State Highway 35 has now reopened after being closed due to floodwaters and debris.
TEM said rivers in the Tolaga Bay area rose rapidly after since midnight, but Civil Defence now believes the worst is over and they are receding.
The Gisborne District Council river level gauge of the Hikuwai River at Willowflat Bridge showed the water level climbing more than 10m.
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