New Zealand insurers face another round of flood payouts after heavy rain swept through the eastern North Island at the weekend. Early estimates put the damage bill at hundreds of millions of dollars.

About 250mm of rain fell on the lightly populated Bay of Plenty over 48 hours, killing two people and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes.

It’s the second set of severe floods in NZ in the past six months. The lower North Island was hit in February by floods which cost insurers an estimated $112 million. Flood insurance is generally available in NZ.

Insurance Council of New Zealand CEO Chris Ryan says the bill this time will run into “the tens of millions of dollars”. He warned yesterday that loss adjusters are finding it difficult to reach some of the worst-hit areas.

The Bay of Plenty area was also hit by a series of earthquakes – reportedly up to 100 – at the weekend, which added to the damage. The Earthquake Commission, which handles all claims involving earth movement, says it has already received 90 claims for landslide and earthquake damage. CEO David Middleton expects up to 1500 claims for earthquake damage and about 500 for flood-caused landslips, at an estimated cost of $5 million.