Businesses and homes are being evacuated in Mt Maunganui because of an ammonia leak.
The leak has occurred at a property on Mark Road, police say.
Cordons are being put in place on Hull Road, through to Tukorako Drive and Totara Street, as well as Triton Avenue and the smaller streets within the area.
Police have evacuated residents from their properties immediately with the spill set to take a number of hours to clean up.
Mount Maunganui local Jorgie Lee works in the area, and had her workplace evacuated about 2:15pm.
She said she first smelled ammonia on her lunch break, and thought it was a chemical their technicians may have been using in their workshop.
"After about 15-20 minutes the smell hadn't gone away and I began to get a headache. It smelt like hair bleach or something and it was burning our noses a bit" she told Newshub.
Concerned when the smell didn't subside, she checked Facebook and news websites for details.
Then the hazmat guys came and told us that we needed to evacuate and head home as soon as possible."
Newshub.
