Flooding and slips on the main highways north and south of the Wairoa have cut off the town on Wednesday.
The road to Waikaremoana - State Highway 38 is also closed.
Fire and Emergency, says it helped two drivers stuck in floodwaters
It also says three houses were evacuated in Nūhaka due to flooding, with crews helping pump water out of at least one of them, another home was threatened by flooding in Mahia.
Metservice's John Law told Morning Report as much as 130-millimetres of rain fell in 12 hours in parts of Northern Hawkes Bay.
Wairoa District mayor Craig Little spoke to Corin Dann.