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 deactivated
Updated at 5pm on Friday, 20 February 2026
Situation
Flood Room is deactivated, but here is still a significant amount of work being undertaken by Waikato Regional Council, both from the recent event in the Waitomo, Ōtorohanga, Waipā and Taupō districts, and also the 21 January event in the Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki districts.
For the latest advice and information, please refer to your local civil defence and council. Please refer to the ‘Who to Contact’ at the bottom of this page.
Our Waipā Zone is operating in flood activation mode to enable continuation of impact assessments. The assessments have included a helicopter trip (immediate initial impact assessment), followed by drone and on ground surveys. Due to the scale of the event, a full picture of the impacts may not be available for another week or two.
River levels in the areas significantly impacted and downstream are slowly returning to normal flows.
Catchments across the region remain saturated following heavy rainfall during January and February. As a result, areas that would normally experience land instability may be affected by any rainfall about the hill country and ranges, especially the Coromandel Peninsula, Taupō, Ōtorohanga and Waipā districts.
The good news is we will likely see some settled/dry weather over the next week.
- download the MetService App so you can get weather alerts directly
- contact local civil defence (or your council) if you observe any evidence of a landslip or flood impacts
- contact 111 if you are in immediate danger.
The Regional Flood Response team continues to monitor forecasts and flood and drainage infrastructure - even when Flood Room is Deactivated - and liaise closely with civil defence, local councils and other agencies.
Please keep up to date with the current MetService weather forecasts and messages from local civil defence. The MetService weather app will notify you of severe weather alerts for your area.
Visit our Environmental Data Hub for the latest river level and rainfall accumulations.
MetService forecast
There are no heavy rain watches or warnings for the Waikato region, with settled weather forecast in the region until at least Saturday, 21 February.
Thunderstorms
There is always a possibility severe thunderstorm watches or warnings may be issued by MetService at short notice so please be alert for and act on these without hesitation – do not wait for further analysis by Waikato Regional Council. For information on preparing for and keeping safe during a storm, see the National Emergency Management Agency's Get Ready website.
Likely/potential Impacts
Rivers and lakes
While no heavy rain watch or warning for the region, there may be some increased flows across the region as rivers recover and recede.
Our catchments are still recovering from recent rainfall and are very suspectable to any rain. Rivers and streams may rise quickly and some localised flooding may occur, especially associated with any localised thunderstorms/downpours.
Wind
There are no strong wind watches or warnings for the 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
No specific coastal impacts are expected.
Land instability
Catchments across the region remain saturated following heavy rainfall in January and February. As a result, areas that would normally experience land instability may be affected by any rainfall about the hill country and ranges, especially the Coromandel Peninsula, Taupō, Ōtorohanga and Waipā districts.
Whilst it is not possible to predict exactly where or when landslides will occur, properties and infrastructure, including roads on or near steep slopes, cuttings or cliffs, are naturally most at risk. People in the area 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. Our advice is to avoid travel unless absolutely essential. The risk does not disappear once the rain has stopped and land instability can continue for many days after the event.
What we're doing
Waikato Regional Council flood and drainage schemes
The council is actively assessing river and catchment impacts in the Waipā Zone and West Coast from the recent rainfall event. All flood and drainage infrastructure is working as it should. Local flood response staff continue to monitor forecasts and assets to ensure a timely response, should it be required.
Please note, drainage schemes will take time to return to the pre-event conditions following rainfall. 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 if conditions change or weather alerts impacting our region are issued.
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.
