Several South Taranaki families remain cut off on Saturday following this week's flooding.
South Taranaki District mayor Phil Nixon said some roads remain impassable and crews were working to clear slips and debris.
"We still have some families isolated in the Tangahoe Valley and the Waitotara Valley. We're keeping in touch with them and able to look after any welfare needs if there is any.
"Our crews are working their way up through those valleys and getting as much of the slips and that cleared as they can, but we still don't totally know the state of some of those roads until the crews work their way up."
Nixon said the families were resilient, but in the case of a medical emergency, helicopters could be used to reach them.
"They are used to being cut off at times. And so most of them are pretty well prepared for these sorts of events. And as I say, we're we're able to go and get help into them if we absolutely need to."
It was unclear how many families were affected.
Nixon said the situation with the Waitotara River was stable.
"So, currently we do have some light grizzly rain. We have had for a while, and we're not expecting a lot of rain today, just misty, grizzly rain.
"The Waitotara River has dropped overnight, although in the last few hours, it has been very, very slowly rising, so more or less I'd call it stable, but about three or four metres down on what it was at its peak yesterday."
Rising Waters in Eltham spark safety warnings
Flood waters in Eltham, South Taranaki, were threatening to cross the road at the corner of Bridge and Stanners St, where blocked drains have caused an empty lot to flood.
Nixon warned residents to stay away from the pool of water, which could be metres deep.
"Just keep away from it. Just let the crews do what they need to do. It's not going to help by you going and looking at it.
"Hopefully, we get a resolution on it and get water draining away very soon."
He said there were culverts backed up around the district, but Eltham appeared to be the worst.
"At this stage, the ex-municipal building in Eltham is flooded, and in and around that area in town, and some water is about to cross the road.
"This little bit of rain that we are getting is just keeping things wet and making it a bit more difficult, but the crews are working through it and doing the best they can."
Nixon said it was not clear what was causing the blockage, where water had been pooling since Thursday.
"No. Look, I haven't had any full briefing on that at this stage, and that's one that I haven't seen myself. So, no, I couldn't comment any further on that one at this point."
He reiterated his warning to stay away from the floodwater.
"Keep well away, because you don't know what's underneath it, even if it's, say on a path or a road that you drive or walk regularly and you think, 'Oh, it's only a little bit of water, I can walk through there or drive through there', please do not because you do not know what's happened underneath.
"Keep away from anything that is flooded and treat it like it could be fairly deep at any time."
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