Two adults and a four-year-old have been rescued after being trapped on a roof for four hours due to flooding in the Tolaga Bay area, north of Gisborne.
The grandmother, her partner and the young girl were airlifted to safety on Monday morning after being stuck on the roof since 4am. The child is now being treated for hypothermia.
According to Tairawhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management, the family airlifted to safety at Tolaga Bay were extremely grateful to be alive after a traumatic ordeal in which they "lost everything" to flooding.
They had spent four hours on the roof of their home in the Mangatokerau Valley north of Tolaga Bay in what the four-year-old granddaughter said was "a cool adventure".
Tairawhiti CDEM Controller John Clarke said floodwaters swept away their woolshed, her partner's work truck, her car, a digger, tractors and trailers. She said there was water everywhere.
They could see no roads and no roofs - just one huge water pool.
The water had flooded their home, reaching a metre from the ceiling, so they had to climb onto the deck. They managed to get on the roof before they called Gisborne District Council before 4am.
Civil Defence said another two households about 8km up Tauwhareparae Rd were still trapped in their homes with flooding all around.
About 20 people evacuated from houses in the area are being housed at Mangatuna Marae.
Mr Clark says helicopters are assessing other people in the area, now that river levels have reached their peak and are receding.
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State Highway 35 is open to traffic after being closed for several hours today at Mangatuna and Whangara.
There is also a warning out about the wastewater system in Kaiti, which has been flooded, the water posing a health risk.
It is advised that no fishing, swimming or shellfish gathering should be done in the river until five days after the rain has stopped.
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