Weather event (red warning) 21-22 January 2026

Date:

21 Jan 2026, 1:29 pm

Categories:

Media Releases

News

We will update this page throughout the coming days (older information will drop down the page).

Update 12:15pm 28 January 2026

❤️‍🩹For some in our district and in neighbouring areas, this week will continue to be really difficult. Our thoughts are with those with missing loved ones and those with the difficult jobs of clearing the landslips in Mount Maunganui. Also with those impacted by the flooding and landslides across the motu, particularly around the top of the East Cape and the long process of restoring access and getting back to everyday life again.

Civil Defence

The State of Emergency has been extended for Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga City Council and has been lifted for Kawerau, Rotorua Lakes and Whakatāne councils. Here in Ōpōtiki, will begin a transition period for the next 28 days as we focus on recovery and support in our rohe.

Roading

👏Huge thanks to the crews who have been out clearing state highways and local roads over the last week – it has been a very busy time and we appreciate your mahi.

🚧SH35 is CLOSED on the Bay of Plenty side. There is a manned closure point at Ōpōtiki allowing access for residents and emergency vehicles, but it will be reiterated to all drivers that there is NO THROUGH ACCESS TO GISBORNE. There is a hard closure at Pōtaka and drivers will not be able to get through. Please treat the work crews with respect and drive with extra care in the area.
🚧SH2 is CLOSED at Waioweka Gorge and will be for some time. You can stay up to date with the latest on the slip clearance from Waka Kotahi NZTA.
🚧Motu Road remains CLOSED since November last year. You can read more about this closure and any updates as we know more on our website.
🚗 With these three closures, the remaining detour is via SH5. Please allow a lot of time for this detour.

Local Roads

Most other local roads are now passable except those inside the Waioweka Gorge closure. We’ll continue working with the residents on those roads around supplies and updates. You can see the current list of road closures at the link at the bottom of this page.

Rāhui

💧The rāhui on the Waioweka awa remains in place from Ōpōnae up to (and not including) Pākihikura - no swimming, fishing, collecting shellfish or boating. More details are available from hapū Ngāti Ira.

Weather

☀The weather is looking settled for the rest of this week with sun and light winds forecast. You can stay up to date with the forecast and any weather watches or warning (there are currently none)with Metservice.

Report it

📲 The wet ground may continue to move even with the sun out so please, if you see a tree down, hazards on our local roads, or anything else that needs attention, report it to council. Antenno is a great way to do that and makes the process really easy. Download the app.

Update 10:15am 22 January 2026

New day new post e te whānau. 10:20am 22 January 2026

🧹Just a few updates on the post-storm clean-up. It looks like the west of the Bay of Plenty has been hit hard ❤. We still have some issues in our district this morning so please take care - check before you travel as there are a number of road closures to be aware of particularly closures to the west of Whakatāne.

❌ The Whangaparāoa River has overflowed, causing significant surface flooding on Cape Road and Ngarue Road. These roads are closed and there are other issues, slips and closures in the area – you can see the extent of the damage in a video linked in the comments.

🚧 SH35 has reopened on the Bay of Plenty side but remains closed on the Tairawhiti side. There are a few issues and inspections are ongoing so take extra care. PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO THROUGH ACCESS TO GISBOURNE VIA SH35. With SH2 also closed (and Motu Road too), the remaining detour is SH5. Please allow time if you need to use that route. Side note - Work to clear SH2 has been postponed due to weather.

⚕ While we ask that you keep travel to a minimum, the Ōpōtiki bridges have no issues, there is roading access to and from Whakatāne (both the Waimana Gorge and Wainui road) so please attend important medical appointments and so on. Your health is essential travel! Please check before travelling further west than Whakatāne.

💧The latest info from the Flood Team at Bay of Plenty Regional Council is that their flood room remains activated and rain has eased across the region but some waterways continue to rise. First warning levels were reached for rivers in the district with peaks expected around 10am this morning.

🚮 Ōpōtiki RRC (rubbish and recycling centre) is open but please delay waste disposal drop offs until tomorrow if possible. Vehicles can navigate most of the site but wood, furniture and concrete areas are not accessible due to surface water.

Update 7:15am 22 January 2026

⛅Mōrena - we'll start with some good news - MetService New Zealand has lifted the severe weather warning for the Bay of Plenty.

🌦 It is still very wet out and is moving down the rivers. Ground and roads (and hillsides) will be saturated and possibly still unstable. So please take extra care.

🚧Teams are out and inspecting roads – currently no known local road closures although there is a lot of water about so as above please take extra care.

🚽Wastewater and water supply networks all appear to be behaving (as with roads please let us know if you know anything differently)

❌SH35 - the manned closure at the Ōpōtiki end remains in place allowing residents and emergency access only. This will be reassessed as the Tairawhiti side of SH35 is assessed and reopened (we'll update you here).

🚧 There are other closures around the wider region including SH2 at Matata, and the Eastern Link between Sandhurst Interchange and Domain Road due to flooding. Please check before you travel on with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi - Waikato & Bay of Plenty

Update 9:15pm 21 January 2026

🚧🛑SH35 closure – please see details on this closure on our Facebook page, or details from Waka Kotahi NZTA at the link below.
The Tairawhiti side of SH35 has a hard closure in place from Okitu north of Gisborne through to Pōtaka, near Whangaparāoa / Cape Runaway. On the Bay of Plenty side, a manned closure point is in place just before the Otara Bridge in Ōpōtiki allowing resident and emergency services access but THERE IS NO THROUGH ACCESS TO GISBORNE. This will be reassessed around 7am in the morning.

There have also been several questions about evacuations. We are not aware of any need for evacuations at this time. However, several marae and community centres have been stood up in case they are needed. These include marae at Waiōtahe, Omarumutu, Waiawa, Terere and Opeke Marae. Up the Coast there are several more including Te Kaha Marae, Maungaroa Marae, Te Kura o Te Whānau a Apanui, Kauaetangohia Marae, Tawaroa Station and Te Kura o Tōrere. Please note – as the situation may change through the night, not all of these locations may still be open or accessible so if possible check and if we are aware, we will share here.

Update 3pm 21 January 2026:

This afternoon, Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management received support from the local Mayors to declare a Bay of Plenty region-wide state of emergency.

This is a precautionary approach to ensure Controllers and others with extraordinary powers can respond quickly and efficiently, to deliver actions that will help keep people safe during a response.

You can still go about your daily business under a state of local emergency, but make sure you listen to and follow any instructions from civil defence and emergency services.

Here at Ōpōtiki District Council, our Emergency Operations Centre is also activated which means council staff change out from our day-to-day jobs and move into our emergency management roles. It means we can keep a closer eye on forecasts and river modelling, work closely with other agencies like NZTA and our iwi partners, and monitor risks and issues in real time. We are using this time to plan and prepare and keep an eye on the weather. We encourage you to do the same in your households and communities.

Update midday 21 Jan 2026

At 11:45am a National Civil Defence emergency alert was sent to all compatible phones. It read:

RED SEVERE RAIN WARNING
MetService has issued a RED SEVERE RAIN WARNING for Bay of Plenty from 9:00am Wednesday to 9:00am Thursday.
Put safety first. Don’t take any chances. Act quickly if you see rising water. Do not try to walk, play, swim or drive in floodwater.
Avoid all non-essential travel. Bring pets indoors and move livestock to high ground where possible.
Be prepared to evacuate. Keep a grab bag close. If you are in immediate danger call 111.
Contact your local council for more information.

That means:

There is an increased risk of flooding and slips in all waterways and near cliffs, slopes and banks
Roads may become impassable and some communities could be isolated - BE PREPARED, particularly if you live in an area prone to road flooding or slips.
Be prepared for possible power and communications outages

We will continue to work with our partner organisations to get the best information and modelling and share it with you here and through our other channels like Facebook and Antenno.

Current situation

Metservice New Zealand has issued a RED Heavy Rain Warning for the Bay of Plenty. This warning is in place from 9am today, Wed 21 Jan → 9am Thu 22 Jan (24 hours)

On top of what has already fallen, we could see another 180 - 240mm of rain, with peak downpours of 25 to 40mm an hour, especially this evening and overnight.

It is a RED warning and should be taken seriously. Red means the weather can create dangerous river conditions, as well as significant flooding and slips.

Travel now only if it is essential or an emergency and drive SUPER carefully as there may be slips, fallen trees or surface flooding on roads.

Check NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi map for any closures.

If you see rising water, do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and stay away from floodwater.

Don't cross, play or drive in flood waters.