A Napier woman has recalled leaving her home last night as floodwater approached her front door as the city was put in a state of emergency.
But today some younger residents have taken advantage of the floodwaters.
One young boy was seen getting a spot of fishing done from his driveway while another girl went for a paddle around the flooded streets in a kayak.
One resident, Tracey, was returning this morning to get her car, which she had parked at her neighbour’s place, before leaving her house at around 8pm last night.
Some younger residents took advantage of flooding, which caused chaos across the city overnight and this morning.
“At the highest point, we were up to my thigh,” she said of the water level.
“We just made a decision, the water was about a metre away from our doorstep, cause we’re not up high.”
“We just made the decision when it was light enough to get out, so we didn’t have to do it in the middle of the night.”
It was the worst she had ever seen it, having experienced a couple of floods in the neighbourhood.
“My work is closed so good day off,” she said wryly.
By 10pm last night, 237 millimetres of rain had fallen and continued into the night with fire and emergency receiving around 350 calls for assistance, including evacuating elderly residents.
Between 40-50 people were evacuated from their homes, with a welfare centre set up at Kennedy Park.
People in Napier are being asked to stay at home today.
Civil Defence Napier manager Ian McDonald also urged residents to be careful around electricity infrastructure and be aware that sewage may have spilled out of the wastewaster system during the flooding.
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