A Tairāwhiti resident says her home would not have flooded if it wasn't for a sea of forestry slash that came down a nearby river during heavy rain.
The region has been battered by heavy rain as Cyclone Hale passed down the country.
Tolaga Bay resident Linda Gough says the Mangatokerau River, which she lives next to, didn't look likely to breach on Tuesday evening, with the rain at its peak...
She told our reporter Kirsty Frame how quickly things escalated.
