{"id":240639,"date":"2026-01-19T06:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T06:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/240639\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T06:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T06:53:13","slug":"people-still-isolated-in-northland-campsite-more-heavy-rain-on-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/240639\/","title":{"rendered":"People still isolated in Northland campsite, more heavy rain on the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tents<\/p>\n

\nTents were left broken and strewn across the Puriri Bay campground in Northland after heavy rain caused flooding on Saturday night.
\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Supplied\n<\/p>\n

Some people are still isolated in Northland after heavy rain caused havoc in the region with more set to hammer the top of the North Island.<\/p>\n

Up to 200 millimetres of rain lashed Northland on Sunday, causing flooding and landslides<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unhappy campers stuck at the Puriri Bay Campsite in eastern Northland were waiting for crews to clear the road of slips.<\/p>\n

Alison Giblin from Matapouri was at Puriri Bay with her husband when the camp flooded early Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

“We were in a tent and woke up to find our mattress floating in about two feet of water. It was a nasty surprise… Everything was completely soaked, our bag of clothes was completely soaked, our food,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Just spent a couple of hours to-ing and fro-ing, wading through the flood water to get our stuff to higher ground. Meanwhile a lot of other people had just abandoned their tents. There’s a whole lot of abandoned tents and equipment lying around.”<\/p>\n

\"Tents<\/p>\n

\nCamper Alison Giblin woke up to a floating mattress at Puriri Bay in Northland.
\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Supplied\n<\/p>\n

She said enormous slips had blocked the way home.<\/p>\n

“We walked down earlier today and looked at the slips, and they looked quite substantial. I don’t know how long it will take the diggers to get here.”<\/p>\n

She estimated about 100 people were at the campsite.<\/p>\n

Giblin said she had brought a van to store food, which they were now using for shelter.<\/p>\n

“Even though we were in our tent, we brought a van with us because it had refrigeration and we were staying for a week and wanted to keep our food cold,” she explained.<\/p>\n

“So we’re lucky enough to have a bed. We’ve migrated to the van, the tent is just totalled.”<\/p>\n

\"Whang\u0101rei<\/p>\n

\nWhang\u0101rei mayor Ken Couper.
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ LDR\n<\/p>\n

Whang\u0101rei mayor Ken Couper told Morning Report a number of people were still isolated in the Department of Conservation campsite at Puriri Bay, next to the Whangaruru Harbour.<\/p>\n

He said they were not short on food or supplies, but he will be looking to provide them with fuel for generators.<\/p>\n

Couper said the main focus was on making sure they were ready for the next deluge of rain before the clean-up could begin.<\/p>\n

\"Flooding<\/p>\n

\nFlooding in Mimiwhangata near Whang\u0101rei, on Sunday morning.
\nPhoto: RNZ\n<\/p>\n

MetService had issued a heavy rain watch for Northland from 6pm on Monday until 6pm on Tuesday. It said periods of heavy rain, with thunderstorms and localised downpours were possible.<\/p>\n

The watch had a moderate chance of being upgraded to a warning, the forecasting agency said.<\/p>\n

There were also heavy rain watches in place for Auckland north of the Harbour Bridge and the Coromandel Peninsula from midnight.<\/p>\n

Earth Sciences New Zealand, formely Niwa, said the heaviest rain for the region was likely to be on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

We’re expecting a busy week of weather around NZ as a subtropical low forms and moves south toward the country<\/p>\n

Northland will see periods of rain early in the week, with the heaviest rain likely Wed-Wed night<\/p>\n

By Thursday, rain (possibly heavy) could overspread other parts of NZ pic.twitter.com\/5qOgXiGk2n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to the rain, MetService said strong easterlies were expected in the north of the North Island, and there was low confidence that a wind warning would be needed for Northland and Auckland.<\/p>\n

Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero<\/a>, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n