A critical road in the Coromandel has washed away.
State Highway 25A, which cuts across the peninsula, gave in over the weekend leaving a gaping hole and a huge repair job.
With more heavy rain expected on Tuesday night, it's feared other roads could face the same fate.
It's been a saturated summer for the Thames-Coromandel region.
When Newshub asked, "Where has the sun gone?" one local said, "Everybody's saying that". Another said, "We've been looking for it".
The sheer volume of rain even surprised the local mayor.
"We're looking at 1.3 metres since the start of January. It would normally take until June, July to get that sort of rain," Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Len Salt said.
The worst of the weather is set to roll in on Tuesday evening. However, State Highway 25A has already been lost.
"The road's actually given way. It's excavated down a hill at the moment. We need some drier weather to get our geotechnical guys up there," NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi's maintenance and operations regional manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said.
Bent, battered and bruised, the travel time is set to skyrocket with journeys across the peninsula taking an extra hour, making it bad news for businesses.
"There's some pretty major issues when SH25A is closed - that's a major route for the peninsula," Thames Business Association CEO Sue Lewis-O'Halloran told Newshub.
The Goldfields Shopping Centre in Thames is taking the unprecedented move to lock its doors on Wednesday as the forecast is too much of a risk.
"Let's be safe rather than being sorry. Plus there's 22 stores here, everything from McDonald's through to The Warehouse. We've got quite a big range. It does affect a lot of people," Goldfields Shopping Centre manager John Freer told Newshub.
The weather has retailers feeling frustrated and fed-up
"It's an absolute tragedy, I spoke to another business operator over in Whitianga the other day and he described it as COVID returned," Freer said.
Lewis-O'Halloran agreed.
"It's been pretty horrific and we just need a break. We hope by this coming weekend, which is a holiday as well, that things will improve dramatically."
Locals also aren't letting the weather dampen their spirits.
"Summer hasn't arrived yet so it must be coming," one local said.
"Thames is Thames mate, good as gold," another said.
High hopes for some high temperatures after a summer like no other.
