Weather: Tauranga residents told to evacuate if they feel unsafe in heavy rain

People in Tauranga feeling unsafe when heavy rain bears down on the city are being urged to evacuate.

The Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane is now under an orange heavy rain warning, with up to 140mm forecast from midnight.

Tauranga City Council has closed a number of tracks and parks in preparation. It said there was an increased risk of both new landslides and more damage at old ones after earlier severe weather.

"If you learn or suspect that a landslide is occurring, or is about to occur, in your area evacuate immediately if it is safe to do so," the council said.

"Seek higher ground outside the path of the landslide. Getting out of the path of a landslide or debris flow path is your best protection," it added.

"If you are feeling unsafe in your property please self-evacuate to family or friends, take animals and any medication you may need."

Northland warnings downgraded

Elsewhere, heavy rain continued to batter Northland's east coast, with the Kāeo River threatening to flood across State Highway 10 north of the Bay of Islands.

High tide passed at 11am.

The wettest areas so far have been Kerikeri, Whakapara and Whangaroa, which have each recorded around 80mm of rain in the past 24 hours. MetService earlier warned up to 120mm could fall, with peak rates up to 40mm an hour.

In Punaruku, the area battered by the January storm, just over 50mm had fallen.

A farm dam burst in the heavy rain, blocking a Far North road with mud and debris.

The Far North District Council said the dam rupture on Taupo Bay Road, near the intersection with State Highway 10, was the most dramatic of today's weather-related incidents.

Work is continuing to clear the road.

Five other roads around the district - Oruaiti Road, Trigg Road, Waikare Road, Waimate North Road and Waiotemarama Gorge Road - were closed due to flooding, a fallen tree and a slip.

Rain is now easing after up to 140mm fell in the past 24 hours with the wettest area just west of Kerikeri, according to regional council figures.

NZTA Waka Kotahi said all Northland highways remain open but flooding was making driving hazardous at some locations.

The transport agency said State Highway 15 at Te Pua Road is flooded but passable with care, while surface flooding is present on State Highway 10 near Mangōnui and Kāeo.

Traffic management is in place on State Highway 10 in Waipapa, also due to flooding.

Civil Defence was urging motorists to take extreme care as a subtropical low made its way south.

Northland Civil Defence earlier said roads and river levels were mostly stable, but there was a lot of surface water on roads and paddocks, especially in the east, and the ground was still saturated from previous downpours.

MetService cautioned of surface flooding, slips and difficult driving conditions.

Northland's orange heavy rain warning has been downgraded to a heavy rain watch until 6pm Tuesday, with MetService saying the storm was tracking south.

A strong wind watch remained in place for Northland until 5pm.

Much of the rest of the upper North Island remained under a heavy rain watch, including Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel and the eastern Bay of Plenty.

Forecasters expected the bad weather to reach the northern South Island by Wednesday evening. Heavy rain watches for late Tuesday were in place in parts of the north of the island.

Cyclone warning

Meanwhile, a tropical cyclone could potentially head towards New Zealand within the next week.

Two tropical cyclones were hovering over the South Pacific - Maila in the Solomon Sea and Vaianu to the east of Vanuatu.

MetService forecaster Louis Fernando said the Category 2 Cyclone Vaianu looked like it would intensify to a Category 3.

"Some of the models are indicating that perhaps towards the weekend the remnants at least of the cyclone could affect parts of the North Island."

Northland experienced heavy rains and flooding at the end of March and some parts are still recovering from the deluge.

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