A massive clean-up has begun in the aftermath of the storm that is now being compared with Cyclone Bola, but there are also predictions of more rain ahead for some of the worst-hit areas.
Hundreds remain homeless and entire roads and bridges have been swept away since the storm began on Sunday.
Whole communities still remain cut off and those allowed back into their houses face a heart-wrenching homecoming.
The entire population of Tangimoana was told on Wednesday to stay out for a third day while officials try to assess the danger from raw sewage.
Allan Davey from Civil Defence said many people are receiving support from counsellors.
On Wednesday night, 1,800 homes were still without electricity and there was no running water for thousands. In Feilding water will have to be trucked in for the rest of the week and officials say there won't be a normal supply or at least six months.
Many roads and bridges across the region remain a tangled mess.
Prime Minister Helen Clark flew in to Feilding on Wednesday afternoon to announce a help package. More rain was predicted for the area on Wednesday night.
It is quickly becoming clear that this week's deluge has caused one of the worst floods ever seen in New Zealand. The insurance bill is set to be twice that of Cyclone Bola and it is rising by the day.
Around half the total cost is expected to come from damage done in Wellington.
A house in Karaka Bay was demolished on Wednesday after a landslide on Tuesday caused it to slip. Its owner Bob Bird, who also built it, had to climb down a rope ladder to escape from the damaged house on Tuesday.
The Insurance Council said the main issue for them was the large number of people not insured who have been affected by the floods.
Meanwhile, the small community of Waitotara in south Taranaki was still without essential services for the third day.
Up to 30 families were marooned up a remote valley on Wednesday night, suffering their third flood in a decade.
The tiny settlement was almost uninhabitable and 40 homes had to be evacuated.
Stock had to be rescued by boat and jetskis, and many locals still had no phones, power, water or sewerage system.
But Civil Defence said the three people missing in the Waitotara Valley had been found. An 11-year-old boy and a 79-year-old man who were at a local marae had not been heard from since Monday. Also reported missing was a telecommunications worker who was in the area on Sunday when the storm hit.
In Picton, a state of emergency has been lifted and residents spent the day returning home to clean up after flash floods swept through the town on Tuesday. About 1,000 people were evacuated.
On Wednesday evening, the areas still under Civil Defence control were in the North Island from Wanganui through Manawatu and Horowhenua was in a state of emergency.
In and around Manawatu and Wanganui, more than 200 people were still out of their homes with close to 50 in emergency accommodation.
Isolated communities in the Wanganui region were hardest hit by blackouts, with 1,800 homes still without electricity.
Phones were on in most areas but 1,500 homes in Manawatu and Rangitikei may not be reconnected until the end of the week.
ONE News' weather reporter Kay Gregory said there were severe wind and rain warnings for Thursday. Northwesterlies are predicted to reach severe gale force over a large area of the southern North Island on Thursday night and heavy rain is expected in the western North Island on Thursday afternoon and evening.
Gregory said more gale force winds are expected at the weekend in the eastern areas south of Hawke's Bay and heavy rain for high ground in western areas from south Taranaki.
