The floodgates on the Makino Stream upstream of Feilding are staying shut on Tuesday morning, locals hoping the weather eases and water levels fall.
Flooding hit the Manawatū town on Monday after it received almost as much rain in a matter of hours - 78mm - as it normally would in a month.
The floodgates, installed after the region's massive 2004 floods, were closed at 11pm on Monday. They diverted water away from the township, but couldn't prevent some surface flooding from happening anyway.
A map uploaded and updated by Manawatū District Council shows nearly two dozen properties across the town have been affected, and a few streets closed.
Civil Defence Manawatū Whanganui told people to stay home, rather than go "sightseeing".
"Horizons staff will continue to monitor the situation, working with the Manawatu District Council to keep adjacent landowners informed until the stream levels are back to normal and all risks are mitigated," incident controller Craig Grant said overnight.
"The region's river systems are still full following last week's heavy rainfall, and with more rain predicted we will continue to monitor the situation tonight and throughout the week."
Photos uploaded to social media by locals show water covering roads, half-submerging vehicles' wheels, and parks looking more like ponds. Grant said the downpour caused "slips, road closures, precautionary evacuations and localised flooding in a number of districts".
The speed limit on State Highway 1 between Manukau to Ohau River Bridge has been reduced to 30km/h, RNZ reported, due to flooding.
"There was a minor breach down near Awahuri Road which has seen water get into the adjoining paddock so we will be keeping an eye on that as we wait for water levels to drop," said Grant.
"We will also continue to monitor the situation throughout the day and put plans in place to maintain our watch overnight and for the next few days with more rain predicted."
A spokesperson for Horizons District Council told Newshub they're continuing to monitor rainfall, with more expected on Tuesday morning. The floodgates will be staying shut until the stream's water level drops below a certain level, which could happen later in the afternoon when the weather is expected to improve.
"We've got more rainfall forecast today, so we'll be keeping an eye on river levels. They're staying closed… it's not dropping yet."
The Manawatū District Council opened a welfare centre for affected locals late on Monday night, but early Tuesday said it would be closed, with the floodgates successfully preventing serious flooding, making the risk "very low".
A MetService heavy rain watch for the region expired at 7am on Tuesday.
