Hundreds of residents in the lower North Island are cleaning up tonight after torrential rain brought widespread flooding.
Several people had to be rescued from their cars and schools were closed, with greater Wellington bearing the brunt of the downpour.
Lisa Kokiri's home in Titahi Bay was flooded in the deluge, and it gave a new meaning to the idea of a waterbed.
"It's pretty bad," she says. "It was up to my knees this morning."
That's not surprising when you consider the scene on the streets of Titahi Bay -- water was up to the windows of one home.
The streets were awash, drains unable to handle the onslaught.
In Porirua, there were flood waters up to a metre deep -- but that wasn't enough to deter some motorists.
But the flooding forced seven schools to close, including Paremata School.
"It was like a big river going across the school," one student says.
"All at the same time, the heavy rain and the high tide is coming, so that's why there's nowhere for the water to run to," says Asomua.
Principal Bryce Coleman says it's the worst flooding he's seen in five years.
"Once our toilets start to overflow we have to close the school," he says. "We can't operate."
Buses and cars were left stranded, the Fire Service attending more than 50 call outs between 9am and 12pm.
Rain eased by mid-afternoon but the water wasn't going anywhere quick
In Palmerston North, up to 27mm of rain fell in just an hour.
"I didn't think it was going to rain that hard, but it rained for a good hard three hours," one resident says.
Fine spells are expected for much of the lower North Island tomorrow and all schools closed today plan to reopen tomorrow.
Newshub.
