A precautionary evacuation is underway for more than 60 homes in a Tairāwhiti township.
It affects properties in the Mangahauini River catchment and Tokomaru Bay.
Civil Defence Controller Ben Green said with the rain forecast there is an immediate risk of the failure of the debris dam, upstream of the township.
The community is being evacuated to a local marae or asked to stay with whanau outside of the area.
This comes as lines provider Unison urges Hawke’s Bay residents to be prepared for outages.
Unison and Transpower have taken emergency measures to restore power as quickly as possible, while work to reinstate Transpower’s permanent supply to the region continues.
The region may experience occasional power outages, which could be as short as 5-10 minutes but may last longer and may be more frequent at peak times.
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