Flood room

Flood Room is activated

Updated at 2pm on Monday, 16 February 2026

Situation

Significant rain has fallen in the Waitomo, Ōtorohanga, Waipā and Taupō districts causing flooding and other impacts. For the latest advice and information, please refer to your local civil defence and council.

Waikato Regional Council rainfall gauges have recorded six-hour duration accumulations exceeding the 250 year Average Return Interval (ARI).

Our Waipā Zone is in flood activation due to the severe impacts and will remain so for the next seven days.  

Rivers are receding in the areas significantly impacted. This water is now flowing through the Waipā and Waikato river systems. These rivers will see increased flows and levels over the next few days as the flow peak works its way done the systems. We are not expecting any issues with the increased flows aside from some minor flooding along low lying areas of both rivers.

While there are no heavy rain watches or warnings for the region, there may be some increased flows in the southern Taupō catchments associated with Heavy Rain Warnings to the south.

Catchments across the region remain saturated following heavy rainfall during January. As a result, areas that would normally experience land instability may be affected by any rainfall about the hill country and ranges, especially the Coromandel Peninsula, Taupō and Ōtorohanga/Waipā districts. 

The good news is we will likely see some settled/dry weather over the next week, however, we are monitoring a possible weather event towards the end of February/early March.

 Regardless of the favourable forecast, we urge people to:

• download the MetService App so you can get these alerts directly
• contact local civil defence (or your council) if you observe any evidence of a landslip or flood impacts
• contact 111 if you are in immediate danger.

The Regional Flood Response team continues to monitor forecasts and flood and drainage infrastructure, and liaise closely with civil defence, local councils and other agencies.

Please keep up to date with the current MetService weather forecasts and messages from local civil defence. The MetService weather app will notify you of severe weather alerts for your area.

Visit our Environmental Data Hub for the latest river level and rainfall accumulations.

MetService forecast

Changes to the weather can occur quickly, so please keep up to date with the latest forecasts. For national severe weather information, MetService is New Zealand’s only authorised provider of Severe Weather Alerts.

There are no heavy rain watches or warnings for the Waikato region, however, heavy rain may occur in southern catchments of the Taupo Zone.

Heavy rain warning - orange - Taupō

Period: 1

7hrs from 8am - 3pm Mon, 16 Feb

Area: Taihape, inland Whanganui and Manawatu north of Bulls about and west of State Highway 1 (heavy rain may occur in southern catchments of the Taupo Zone)

Forecast: Expect a further 30-60mm of rain on top of what has already fallen. Peak rates of 10-15 mm/h this morning. Minimal chance of upgrading to a red warning.

Issued: 9:52am Mon 16 Feb

Next update: 9:00pm Mon 16 Feb

Severe Thunderstorm Outlook

There are no thunderstorms forecast, however, there is always a possibility severe thunderstorm watches or warnings may be issued by MetService at short notice so please be alert for and act on these without hesitation – do not wait for further analysis by Waikato Regional Council. For information on preparing for and keeping safe during a storm, see the National Emergency Management Agency's Get Ready website.

Likely/potential Impacts

Rivers and lakes

While no heavy rain watch or warning for the region, there may be some increased flows in the southern Taupo catchments associated with heavy rain warnings to the south.

Our catchments are still recovering from recent rainfall and are very suspectable to any rain. Rivers and streams may rise quickly and some localised flooding may occur, especially associated with any localised thunderstorms/downpours.

Wind

There are no strong wind watches or warnings for the region.

Please keep up to date with information from your local power provider, the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and local civil defence.

Coastal impacts

No specific coastal impacts are expected.

Land instability

Catchments across the region remain saturated following heavy rainfall during January. As a result, areas that would normally experience land instability may be affected by any rainfall about the hill country and ranges, especially the Coromandel Peninsula, Taupō and Ōtorohanga/Waipā districts. 

Whilst it is not possible to predict exactly where or when landslides will occur, properties and infrastructure, including roads on or near steep slopes, cuttings or cliffs, are naturally most at risk. People in the area should remain vigilant for early warning signs of earth movement. 

Road users should plan ahead and keep up to date with the latest from their local council and the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. Our advice is to avoid travel unless absolutely essential. The risk does not disappear once the rain has stopped and land instability can continue for many days after the event.

What we're doing

Waikato Regional Council flood and drainage schemes

The council is actively assessing river and catchment impacts in the Waipā Zone from the recent rainfall event. All flood and drainage infrastructure is working as it should. Local flood response staff continue to monitor forecasts and assets to ensure a timely response, should it be required. 

Please note, drainage schemes will take time to return to the pre-event conditions following rainfall. Rest assured our local operations staff are monitoring. 

Waikato Regional Council telemetry

Our telemetry network continues to provide real-time data on rainfall and river levels and is monitored 24/7 by our Regional Flood Response team. Visit our Environmental Data Hub for the latest river level and rainfall accumulations. 

Next update

Flood Room will be updated by 5pm on Tuesday (17 February), or earlier if conditions or weather alerts impacting our region change. 

New Zealand Flood Pics

New Zealand Flood Pics is a photographic archive of flooding for Aotearoa New Zealand which is currently hosted by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). It's free for anybody to upload or download flood photographs and your contributions are welcomed.

Go to New Zealand Flood Pics