Cars have been towed away after trying to drive through floodwaters, with a marae and kohanga reo also flooded in a small Hawke's Bay township.
Hawke's Bay residents this morning woke to widespread flooding after considerable rain overnight.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council gauges registered between 50-120mm across the Bay in the past 24 hours.
Among the worst areas hit was Raukawa, about 15 minutes south of Hastings near Bridge Pa.
The creek there breached its banks overnight, sending waters into the kohanga reo, the marae, the local hall and other properties.
Resident Rata Leon Wairama said he had "never, ever seen it this bad before".
"I'm up on a little bit of a hill where the bridge is - I said to my wife when we bought this house, if it floods, it will have to fill that whole paddock before it gets to us," Mr Wairama said.
"When we woke up this morning and saw it, we were like wow ... so glad we live up here."
Mr Wairama said they noticed the rain was heavier than ever last night when drips starting coming down their fireplace.
The road through town had deep flooding, and cars were attempting to drive through it, but some were luckier than others.
"People are going slow - we've had a few cars that have gone through it, but because they were too low they, haven't made it through," he said.
"I think some of these guys are just going too quick through it and it's just boosted up into their motor area."
Other Hawke's Bay residents have shared images from around the region showing the extent of the flooding.
MetService says the rain is likely to continue today and tomorrow in Hawke's Bay, before easing over the weekend, but also says gale-force winds are forecast to hit tomorrow in exposed areas.
For a full forecast for your area, see our weather section here .
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