Floods hit New Zealand at the weekend, with a state of emergency declared in the Rotorua region after record rainfall.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says the Coromandel and South Canterbury regions also experienced significant flooding.

It is too soon to estimate costs, with provisional figures expected in June, ICNZ says.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research says Rotorua had its wettest hour on record, with 51.8mm of rain falling from 10am-11am yesterday. The town recorded 167.8mm from 4am Saturday to 6pm yesterday, or nearly 1.5 times the April norm in 38 hours.

The MetService says eastern areas of the Coromandel Peninsula received about 200mm of rain in 24 hours.

ICNZ has urged affected residents to contact their insurers, and has stressed that improving community resilience to extreme weather is a priority.

“New Zealand needs to plan and adapt in ways that will reduce the impact of natural disasters, because every dollar spent in pre-disaster adaptation measures saves many more after an event,” CEO Tim Grafton said.