n ($2.6 million) since heavy rains over a week ago caused rivers to burst their banks. The flooding has drenched farmland around the Waikato river, swamping dozens of homes and forcing farmers in the agricultural region to use jet-skis and kayaks to herd almost submerged cattle. The Waikato River is New Zealand‘s longest, running 425 km from Taupo in the central North Island to the Tasman Sea. The lake‘s water level was falling very slightly, despite two floodgates being open to the river. The lake is New Zealand‘s largest, at 606 square kilometres. Auckland suffered much inconvenience from torrential rain but the city council‘s repair bill was likely to be under NZ$1 million, public relations manager John May told.