The Nelson Tasman region remains under a state of emergency, with evacuations, widespread flooding, slips, power cuts to 13,000 homes and businesses, and pleas to conserve water.
Residents in the top of the South Island are under a second state of emergency in three weeks and preparing for another potentially devastating storm.
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence controller Alec Louverdis said the situation was "absolutely hectic" with heavy rain pounding the region. This deluge was different from the weather bomb two weeks ago, with intense rain “smashing” the area.
"Because these areas are inundated and wet, it's adding to the issues. This rainfall event is expected to be a lot quicker - a shorter period - and some rivers are rising quicker than we expected.
"Things have just ramped up in the last 40 minutes and we have multiple issues we're dealing with," he told RNZ's Checkpoint programme on Friday night. "The rainfall has just picked up and is absolutely belting down."
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence issued an emergency mobile alert just after 2pm, advising people who were evacuated two weeks ago and those who feel unsafe to leave now.
The affected areas are between Tapawera and Riwaka, along the Motueka River Valley, including Motupiko River and Tadmor River, Wakefield and Brightwater, along the Wai-iti and Pitfure Rivers, and low-lying areas in the Moutere Valley.
Civil Defence was preparing for some flooding in the township of Tākaka at the southeastern end of Golden Bay.
Civil Defence is using NZ Defence Force unimogs to access some hard to reach communities.
In Riwaka, about 20 residents were spending the night at an evacuation hub. But the Riwaka Memorial Hall lost power about 4.30pm just as residents were beginning to arrive.
Brooklyn residents and neighbours Ellie Henderson and Nadine Fletcher were among those at the hub and said they'd made the right call.
Kaiteriteri and Riwaka residents have been issued a conserve water notice.
The NZ Transport Agency said State Highway 6 Kawatiri to Brightwater and SH6 Nelson, between Bisley Ave and Richardson St, are closed due to slips and flooding. SH60 Motueka, at the intersection of Riwaka-Kaiteriteri Rd, is closed due to flooding.
Red warning lifted
A red, heavy rain warning - the highest alert - had earlier been issued for Tasman district southeast of Motueka and north of Lake Rotoroa from 9am today with a further 80 to 120mm of rain on top of what had already fallen expected.
It was lifted just before 9pm, MetService advised.
Just one orange heavy rain warning remained in force at the top of the South Island: for the Nelson city district and Marlborough, northwest of the Awatere Valley until 11pm today.
Orange heavy rain warnings have also been issued for the top of the North Island, and heavy rain watches for the central North Island.
MetService meteorologist John Law told RNZ's Checkpoint programme late this afternoon there was "a lot happening across the country".
"Sadly, another very wet day for those teams over in the Nelson-Tasman region. We've already seen as much as 190mm of rainfall across from those higher parts of the Tasman region.
"And this is on top of that very wet weather we've had in the last week, last month, but the first half of this year has been incredibly wet in those regions, so the area is already very wet underfoot and the river is already very high indeed."
The average rainfall for July in the Nelson region was 70mm - yet after 11 days, 170mm had already fallen, Law said.
The problem today was not just the amount of rain, it was that the ground was still wet from the last storm, and it was important for locals to keep up-to-date with the latest forecast.
"We may well find flooded communities being isolated, and dangerous river conditions… so it's really worth keeping a close eye on the forecast, but more importantly as well, the information from those local Civil Defence and Emergency Management teams and the emergency services on the ground as well."
Law said there were "a few more hours of that heavy rainfall to come through" for the Nelson area and the rain was coming from northerly winds bringing a "whole amount of warm moist air".
'Stay home, stay safe'
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence estimates about 100 homes have been evacuated as rain continued to pelt the region.
Fire and Emergency NZ said teams were going door to door to ensure people knew what to do.
Crews were also responding to reports of people trapped by floodwaters. FENZ said some people were stuck in their homes and others in their cars in many places around Motueka. It said weather conditions were severe and people should stay off the roads, unless they needed to evacuate.
The Tasman District Council reissued its plea for locals to rethink driving as the weather worsened.
"Please stay off the roads if you can in these conditions - it's just not worth the risk," it posted to social media today.
"We have a number of roads already closed across the district, and we're expecting more closures to happen in the coming hours due to tree falls from heavy winds and significant surface flooding. Stay home, stay safe."
There have been multiple reports of trees down.
Large parts of the Tasman district - including all of Motueka and Golden Bay - lost power about 4.20pm.
Lines company Network Tasman said it would try to restore electricity to Golden Bay this evening, but with strong winds and road closures making it dangerous for crews, it would likely stay off overnight. Network Tasman couldn't confirm how many properties were affected.
The Motueka River West Bank is closed beyond Blue Gum Corner, where it gets within metres of the river.
Conan Richards said shin-deep water covering dozens of apple trees was OK. But with 40-50mm of rain still expected to come - and the property sandwiched between the Brooklyn Stream and Motueka River - there was a risk it would get much worse.
He says in the flooding two weeks ago, neighbouring orchards saw water above the height of their apple trees - about 2.5m.
Flooding caused widespread damage in the region on June 27, leaving some residents without homes to return to.
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence confirmed flooding was the worst in the region in almost 150 years.
Gloeggler was now part of a flood support team checking in with people affected by the last flood.
"They're quite nervous about more rain coming, because they've just been starting to secure and kind of rebuild the things that got broken, and now there's just more on the radar. It's quite unsettling and nerve-wracking for the people here."
She said many whose homes were damaged had not recovered from the last event. "They are still in that shock, because they know it is not over yet. It is quite full on for everyone involved, but especially for the people who are affected."
Gloeggler planned to be in Nelson with Kahu during Friday and Saturday, when the rain was due to hit.
Nelson Federated Farmers president Kerry Irvine was based in Tapawera - an area of Tasman hit hard by flooding recently.
"It is a pretty wide event, this one, and I have to stress any more rain is not welcome."
Irvine said the rain event nearly two weeks ago was like nothing he had seen before.
"I've talked to a number of the older farmers and they had seen nothing like it."
- By Nick James of RNZ and staff reporters
