Some Napier residents are warned they could face a second night without power as the city faces the aftermath of severe flooding.
Torrential rain on Monday forced dozens of people out of their homes, left hundreds without power, and prompted a local State of Emergency to be declared.
The storm affected over 100 homes and left 16 as "uninhabitable", according to Fire and Emergency (FENZ), and the event was described as "a 1-in-250 year event".
Power company Unison said while its crews have been working through the day to reconnect customers, some areas will face a second night without power.
Unison relationship manager Danny Gough said while floodwaters are slowly subsiding, flood damage is proving more challenging than expected.
"The depth of the water in some areas has damaged our high voltage assets, such as transformers and switch units. Our process is to inspect, clean, repair and then once deemed safe, liven these assets - which unfortunately is proving to be a hard slog, and of course we can only commence this process once the water has subsided," he said.
"While our crews are doing all they can, and will be working into the night for as long as it is safe to do so, it is highly likely that we may not get everyone connected this evening given that we currently have over 800 customers still without power."
He said these people still without power are encouraged to stay with family and friends, or if this isn't possible, to call the Hawke's Bay Civil Defence helpline on 0800 422 923 for assistance.
"Unfortunately, if there is further flooding tonight due to the forecast rain, customers in the wider Napier region should also be prepared to be without power, so we advise customers to be vigilant and have their emergency plans ready to go."
Customers can check the Unison website for outage updates.
MetService has issued a heavy rain watch for the Napier region, which is currently set to last until 8pm on Wednesday.
It said there will be periods of heavy rain with possible thunderstorms and rainfall "may approach warning criteria".
"Please note, rain should ease about and south of Napier late Wednesday afternoon," it said.
FENZ area manager Ken Cooper said multi-agency teams visited affected homes on Tuesday afternoon to check on people's welfare and assess property damage.
As of 5pm, 106 have been assessed and 16 have been deemed as uninhabitable. These people have been evacuated.
"Teams continue to move through Napier's impacted areas this afternoon - Napier Hill and the suburbs of Maraenui, Marewa and Pirimai. Damage to structures range from minor to, in some cases, severe," he said.
Kennedy Park Resort in Napier remains open to people evacuated from their homes.
