A group of deerstalkers had to scramble through rising floodwaters as torrential rain wreaked havoc through the Bay of Plenty on Tuesday.

The active weather front that had earlier ravaged Northland, and sparked a state of emergency in Auckland, swept through the region in the evening, taking many by surprise at the voracity of the downpour.

A group of deerstalkers had to be dramatically rescued as a flash flood burst through their clubrooms, with a 1.5 m high wall of surging water sweeping away their vehicles.

A heavy deluge of rain caused flooding near houses at Donovan Park, Te Puke. Video: Glandre Van De Berg/Supplied.

The Bay of Plenty deer stalking association was having its committee meeting in their clubrooms on State Highway 29 near Tauriko, when water in a nearby creek rose and caused a wave of rapid flooding.

'It came so fast, it was unbelievable, like a wall of water about 1.5m high,” says one of the group, Evan Dines, who had to quickly evacuate.

Tauranga Boys' College was evacuated during after school activities, with boys wading up to their thighs in flood waters. Photo: Codi Fredericks.

While the group all made it out of the water to dry land, assisted by fire and emergency services, there was nothing they could do as they saw their cars in the car park outside, become submerged in water and carried away in the fierce torrents.

'The cars are all gone. Buggered,” says one of the group.

Meanwhile, a group of school children in an after school games club at Tauranga Boys' College had to be evacuated as waters swept through the college grounds, says one of the boy's mothers, Kaysi Fredericks.

'One boy was wading in water up to his thigh, and my son had to just walk through it too getting soaked. It was hard for parents to get there to pick them up as the roads were so bad. As I got the call to go and pick him up at one point you couldn't see the kerb of the road as the water was so high, and that was on the main road.”

Tauranga Boys' College was evacuated during after school activities, with boys wading up to their thighs in flood waters. Photo: Codi Fredericks/Stuff.

Parents were also frantic knowing their children were at camp at Mclaren Falls, in the Western Bay, says Fredericks.

'My daughter was one of them. There were many extremely anxious parents, as we couldn't reach them and there is no wi-fi there, no phones. We were all so relieved when we heard they were all okay – soaked and surrounded by water – but we were just so happy that they were all safe.”

Te Puke resident Glandre Van Den Berg says the floods had caused a stream of fast moving water behind her house, turning Donovan Park into 'a sea of water”, and flash flooding roads.

As the Bay of Plenty was battered with heavy rain both Western Bay and Tauranga activated their emergency operation centres, and supported by Emergency Management, says Lisa Glass at Emergency Management Bay of Plenty.

'We didn't have a declared state of emergency, so it wasn't an emergency per se, but it was complex enough and there was enough going on that teams around the place were working to make sure we were all aware of what was happening and what needed to be done.”

A number of people had water on their properties and into some buildings, says Glass.

”Fire, police, roading and power contractors were kept super busy, but fortunately the rain eased off enough to take some of that pressure off after the initial heavy deluges.”

Heavy rain, fallen trees and slips caused road closures on State Highway 29, and roads between Omokoroa and Waihi and Tauranga and Rotorua had to be closed.

Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips, says Bay of Plenty Civil Defence.

- Annemarie Quill/Stuff.