Aucklanders are hunkering down once again as the city prepares for yet another bad batch of weather.
MetService has issued an orange heavy rain warning for Auckland, south of Orewa, from 8pm on Tuesday - and it has many families bracing for the worst.
Dillon Meagher now knows first-hand how quickly his street in Sunnynook, North Shore, can flood.
"There were about four or five of us who were floating people out. We got one lady out who was in a wheelchair - we got her out on a surfboard," he said.
That lady was one of three people he helped rescue as his road turned into a river. For partner Lauren Coffey, the shock of it all is still sinking in.
"Really hard to process. It all happened so fast, and I'm still going, 'What actually happened?' It just doesn't seem real."
It's got them both on edge as they wait for the heavy rain to return.
"All of our passports are in a bag, ready to go," Meagher said.
"Any kind of rain that starts falling, I'm scared of it, honestly. It was a scary situation, neck-deep water on our street," Coffey added.
There are several yellow-stickered houses on this street.
Residents Newshub spoke to aren't even going to attempt the clean-up because the rain just keeps on coming. Instead, they've come to rescue as many irreplaceable items, like photos.
Dan Teeboone's friend's house was one of the hardest hit here and is a complete write-off, along with their cars. But a waterline on his house serves as a reminder of just how dangerous this weather can be.
"Floodwaters are scary because they're just a force of nature. We can only just wait to see what happens," Teeboone said.
It's that force of nature that Auckland Council is closely monitoring. It manages half a million trees across the city, with saturated soil now a big issue.
"Unfortunately, failure like that, where a tree falls because of the land situation, it's nearly impossible to predict when a tree is going to fall," said David Stejskal, regional arboriculture manager.
It's unpredictable situations like this that have officials on high alert.
"Shallow flood waters can be incredibly dangerous and people really need to take care," said Rachel Kelleher, deputy controller at Auckland Emergency Management.
Making sure everyone is prepared for whatever this weather may bring.
