A local State of Emergency has been declared in Banks Peninsula as heavy rain causes flooding, slips, fallen trees and communication outages in the area.
The declaration was made by Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger at noon today.
"This decision allows us to keep people safe by engaging all resources into responding quickly to problems that may arise. This is one of the best ways we can protect the community, by declaring a local State of Emergency.
"We anticipated the weather easing off, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened, and isn't forecast to begin easing until 6pm. So, declaring will mean we can ensure we have access to any resources required during the response,” Mauger said.
Earlier, a driver had to be rescued after their car got stuck in floodwaters in Banks Peninsula as heavy rain lashes parts of Canterbury.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Blair Walklin said crews were called to the rescue operation on State Highway 75 in Little River about 11.30pm on Monday and arrived in 20 minutes.
They were able to rescue the only occupant of the car, but the vehicle remained in the water on Tuesday morning.
- Find out more at metservice.com/warnings/home
Wild weather that originated in the North lsland has moved south, bringing heavy rain to eastern parts of the South Island.
More than 280mm has fallen on parts of the Banks Peninsula since last night.
Floodwaters surround a home in Akaroa. Photo: RNZ
Boil water notice issued
Christchurch City Council has issued a boil water notice for Wainui on Banks Peninsula due to damage caused by floods.
It said the local water supply infrastructure had been damaged, and it couldn't guarantee the water was safe.
Tests are yet to confirm any contamination, but the council advised people to boil any water used for drinking, preparing food, washing utensils, making ice and brushing teeth.
Bringing water to a boil for one minute is enough to kill bacteria.
Water does not need to be boiled for bathing and laundry, but people are warned not to swallow any water while showering.
Farmer rescues stranded sheep
Farmer Sir David Carter said more than 250mm of rain fell overnight at his property.
"The rain gauge was overflowing this morning. I've never seen so much rain and I've been farming here for 40 years."
"We moved stock to higher ground last night because we knew this was coming, but a farm assistant had to swim nine sheep to safety at 6.30am.
"I'd say there will be slips on the hills but we won't know the extent of the damage until the rain stops."
He said he didn't think they had had stock losses.
Road closures
Several roads have been closed across Canterbury on Tuesday, including SH75 from Tai Tapu to Akaroa and a section of New Brighton Rd between Rawson St and Pages Rd.
Other road closures include:
- Clarendon Tce is closed from Opawa Rd to Tavender St
- Eastern Tce is closed from Birdwood Ave to Tennyson St
- Waimea Tce is closed from Riverview St to Malcolm Ave
- Ford Rd is closed from Opawa Rd to 42 Ford Rd
- Richardson Terrace is closed from Opawa Rd to Mackenzie Rd
- Fifield Terrace is closed from Beckford St to 364 Riverlaw Tce
- Summit Rd is closed from Sign of the Kiwi to Gebbies Pass Rd
- Governors Bay - Teddington Rd on Teddington side of Allandale is currently closed until mid-morning due to fallen trees
- Bamfords Rd is also closed due to tree down
- Charteris Bay Rd is closed from Andersons Rd to Teddington due to flooding
- Gebbies Pass Rd is closed from SH75 to Teddington due to flooding
- SH75 is closed to all vehicles from Kaituna to Little River
SH75 between Christchurch and Akaroa remained closed at Tai Tapu due to flooding and slips. There is widespread flooding in Akaroa.
A heavy rain watch is in place for Christchurch (apart from Banks Peninsula), and Canterbury Plains between the Rangitata River and Amberley from 8am until 3pm today.
Rain, with heavy falls, was forecast for Christchurch this morning before gradually easing to the odd shower in the evening.
Strong southwesterlies would ease early tonight, MetService said.
"It might be a lot of rain, but it's not for a long time, so we're keeping an eye on it and hoping for the best.
"Keep an eye out for slips and water running off hills where it doesn't normally run off a hill and report it, because that's where slips and dropouts will start to occur."
Christchurch City Council said it was closely watching the weather, and roading crews had been on standby overnight. Some surface flooding had been reported.
Diamond Harbour School on Banks Peninsula is closed.
One resident told RNZ the closure was due to the main road into the area being closed, and teachers who live out of the area not being able to get in.
Kerbside rubbish collection in Christchurch
Kerbside collections will be disrupted across Christchurch and Banks Peninsula today, including Diamond Harbour, Little River, areas around the Akaroa Highway closure and Ōpāwaho Heathcote River.
Meanwhile, a heavy rain watch for Dunedin (east of Pukerangi) would linger for longer and was due to expire at 9pm today.
In the North Island, MetService had also issued heavy swell warnings for the Wellington and Wairarapa coasts from midday today, saying large waves and dangerous sea conditions are expected. Coastal inundation was possible about exposed coasts.
