A yacht and the jetty it was tied to are adrift in the Uretara Stream in Katikati, following a deluge of rain on Monday afternoon.

"Debris, packing crates, plus the jetty torn away from the bank with yacht attached," says John Strongman, a Katikati local who went to check on the boat and is now trying to find the owner.

"We've had a bit of a flood in the river here with the debris floating downstream.

"This yacht was tied to a jetty a bit further upstream. It's torn away from the bank, and floated downstream about one kilometre from where it was and it's become grounded."

John and his wife Jenie live nearby alongside the Uretara Stream.

"We were out on the deck watching the debris floating past,' says John. "I knew the boat was moored downstream so I looked to see if I could see it, but couldn't. So we went down to see it and it was missing from where it normally is."

They found the yacht, Twosome, further down, still tied to the jetty which had been torn from the bank.

"We don't know who the owner of the yacht is and have been trying to establish that. And no one else seems to know. It appears that nobody was on board when it was washed away."

John says that the issue is that when the tide comes in at 1am on Tuesday morning the yacht and jetty may float further away.

John is also a member of the local Katikati Boating Club and is reaching out to other members to see if anyone knows who the owner is.

"He wasn't a member of the club but was using one of the club's jetties."

John has managed to get a message through to the club president about the jetty being torn away.

At the scene? Phone 0800SUNLIVE or newsroom@thesun.co.nz