Flood room status
Flood Room is monitoring. For information on current river levels, flows and rainfall accumulations, please visit our Environmental Data Hub.
What the status levels mean
Flood Room is monitoring
Updated at 1pm on Thursday, 23 October 2025
Situation
The adverse weather that has affected our region, particularly in our southwest zones, has now passed. However, there is further unsettled weather forecast to land in our region today (Thursday, 23 October).
The forecast rain tonight may cause localised impacts (landslips and/or flooding) in areas that are still recovering from last week's event, especially in the Waitomo, Ōtorohanga and western Waikato areas. Wide spread impacts are unlikely at this stage.
Waikato Regional Council and Mercury are continuously assessing and managing the Waikato Hydro system, as well as monitoring the Waipā River as we are still in Phase 1 of the High Flow Management Plan.
Please keep up to date with the current MetService weather forecasts and messages from local civil defence.
We are also monitoring a potential rain event that could impact parts of the region early over Monday and Tuesday next week. We will update Flood Room over the weekend as required.
Visit our Environmental Data Hub for the latest river level and rainfall accumulations.
MetService forecast
A heavy rain watch has been issued (below) for 8 hours from 3pm to 11pm Thursday, 23 October in Tongariro National Park, with periods of heavy rain. Amounts may approach warning criteria. There is a moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch
There are no Thunderstorm Watches or Warnings for the Waikato region. However, there is a moderate risk of heavy rain from a thunderstorm up until midnight today (Thursday, 23 October) of between 10 and 20mm/h, with strong wind gusts of 80-110km/h on that western band of our region (please refer to map below).
For information preparing for and keeping safe during a storm, see the National Emergency Management Agency's Get Ready website.
Likely/potential Impacts
Rivers and lakes
Lake Taupō outflows are still at maximum discharge of 300 cumecs and remain below consented maximum control level of 357.25 metres.
Additional rain forecast in Tongariro may put additional pressure on the Waikato Hydro scheme. Rest assured, Waikato Regional Council will be monitoring the system closely with Mercury.
Wind
There are no Wind Watches or Warnings in force for the Waikato region. Please keep up to date with information from your local power provider, the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and local civil defence.
Coastal impacts
There are unlikely to be any significant coastal impacts.
Land instability
Areas that would normally experience land instability may be affected by rainfall about the hill country and ranges of the region. This may heighten the risk of landslip and people in these areas should remain vigilant for early warning signs of earth movement.
Road users should plan ahead and keep up to date with the latest from their local council and the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
What we're doing
Waikato Regional Council flood and drainage schemes
Our managed flood infrastructure has withstood the challenges of the recent weather. Our local operations staff will remain on standby to monitor our flood and drainage schemes.
The Whangamarino Control Gates have been reopened. They were closed on Thursday last week to prevent back flow from the Waikato River into the Whangamarino Wetland.
Please note, drainage schemes will take time to return to the pre-event conditions. Rest assured our local operations staff are monitoring.
Waikato Regional Council telemetry
Our telemetry network continues to provide real-time data on rainfall and river levels and is monitored 24/7 by our Regional Flood Response team. Visit our Environmental Data Hub for the latest river level and rainfall accumulations.
Next update
Flood Room will be updated before 1pm on Friday, 24 October, or earlier if the situation changes.
New Zealand Flood Pics
New Zealand Flood Pics is a photographic archive of flooding for Aotearoa New Zealand which is currently hosted by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). It's free for anybody to upload or download flood photographs and your contributions are welcomed.
