Heavy rain heads north: Evacuations, roads closed, power outages (2024)

Towns have been cut off and some residents have been warned to expect power outages to take days to resolve as heavy downpours continue to batter the country.

The weather system has triggered concerns in the north of the South Island, with Marlborough Civil Defence and Emergency Management advising 70 households in the township of Spring Creek near Blenheim to evacuate their homes by 9am tomorrow morning.

Heavy rain in the upper Wairau catchment was expected to raise water levels "significantly" at Wairau River tomorrow, the agency said. At Spring Creek, the river was expected to reach between 3300 and 3600 cubic metres per second after 9am.

Residents of Dodson, Hathaway and March streets, and part of Ferry Rd, are advised to relocate as a precaution for the day. The Peninsula Rd stop bank was potentially compromised due to previous storm events and seismic activity.

Peninsula Rd was closed between Gouland and Ferry roads in Spring Creek. Wairau Bar Rd, and Bothams Bend Rd may also be closed tomorrow.

In Nelson, State Highway 6 Rocks Rd between Bisley Ave and Russell St is closed this evening due to flooding. The road is expected to reopen when the high tide period ends around 2am tomorrow.

Glacier country cut off

In South Westland, SH6 between Ross and Haast were closed. Sections within that highway, between Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, were also closed or restricted.

Access to the two glacier towns is likely to cut off over the weekend before being reassessed at midday on Monday, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said in an update this afternoon.

The highway between Fox Glacier and Haast will be reviewed tomorrow morning at 10am.

SH6 between Haast to Makarora in Otago will close at 7pm tonight and will be reassessed at 10am tomorrow due to surface flooding and ongoing torrential rain with high creek levels, NZTA said.

It means Haast and Fox Glacier are effectively cut off on both sides, north and south. Access to the Waiho Bridge was being limited to prevent southbound motorists from being forced to turn around at the Fox Hills.

Jacksons Bay Rd was also closed due to flooding.

The closure of State Highway 16 was extended further north to Ross just after 6pm.

South Westland Area School said it would be closed on Friday.

“Stay home and stay safe,” the school said on social media.

MetService said the country remained firmly in the grip of a large weather system.

The western South Island is now in a second wave of heavy rain, with a number of orange heavy rain warnings in place.

Firefighters respond to call-outs

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it responded to a “small number of weather-related call outs across the country since midday”.

Firefighters responded to some flooding in Invercargill this morning, and roof iron lifting in Cobden around midday.

In Auckland, firefighters responded to 18 incidents relating to high winds downing trees, powerlines, and roofs lifting.

Downpours, king tides

MetService said heavy downpours should be expected into this evening, with showers and possible thunderstorms continuing through to early tomorrow morning.

Periods of more intense rainfall are possible, the forecaster warned.

While Southland was in the firing line, the region saw less rainfall than predicted, Southland Emergency Management said in an update this evening.

"We do not anticipate any further issues from flooding as water moves down the catchments."

River levels are also expected to be lower than Environment Southland's flood warning trigger levels, they said.

"Please continue to take care on the roads, especially if you are travelling outside of Southland in the next day or so, and avoid any surface flooding if you come across it."

In the northern regions of the South Island, around 250mls of rain has fallen in the Golden Bay ranges as of this afternoon, Nelson Tasman Civil Defence said today in an update. River levels are expected to reach five-year flood levels this evening, peaking between 10pm and midnight. Some surface flooding is expected in low lying areas.

Some strong downpours, high winds and a king tide iwere expected in the Richmond Ranges this evening. Rivers there were expected to peak by midnight.

Lower Hollyford Bridge in Te Anau is closed from the Lake Marian carpark due to flood damage, the Southland District Council said on social media. Contractors will assess the damage later today.

An emergency control centre has been stood up in Southland.

"Additionally, the top of the South Island will feel the compound effects of rain and northerly winds," MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said.

Power outages to last days

Areas south of Hannah's Clearing – including Arawhata, Jackson Bay and Neils Beach – have been left without power, with the outage expected to take days to resolve, Westland Emergency Management said this afternoon.

It follows the loss of three power poles.

"We expect this to last for several days," Westland Emergency Management said.

A timeframe of when power can be restored is expected to be provided in an update by noon tomorrow.

Heavy rain to hit North Island

The weather system will also make itself felt over the North Island, moving over the island tonight into Friday.

"Of particular concern will be thunderstorm activity, which may bring periods of more intense rainfall. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in place for Auckland, Northland, Coromandel, parts of Bay of Plenty and the Waikato where brief, localised surface flooding may be possible," Makgabutlane said.

"Friday morning will likely be the wettest time, and it would be a good idea to factor that into commute plans."

Stronger winds will also feature today and tomorrow across the country, with a number of strong wind watches in place. Strong northeasterly winds may approach severe gale in exposed places, MetService warned.

"The combination of very wet roads and gusty winds may make road travel extra challenging," Makgabutlane said.

Rapid cooldown expected

MetService also said a "rapid cooldown" is expected tonight for the eastern and lower South Island.

It will bring snowfall to elevated areas of Otago and Canterbury above 600m.

Road snowfall warnings have been issued for the Milford and Crown Range roads.

"A sharp temperature drop [is] anticipated in eastern areas."

However, the weather will start to settle down moving into the weekend. This trend continues into next week.

Latest weather watches, warnings

An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Coromandel Peninsula from 3am to 3pm tomorrow; Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua, from 4am to 11pm tomorrow; Mount Taranaki from 12pm today to 11am tomorrow; Tasman northwest of Motueka until 2am tomorrow; the Bryant Range, also inland Marlborough west of Blenheim and north of the Awatere River, until 9am tomorrow; Buller District south of Seddonville and northwest of Reefton until 2am tomorrow; Westland District south of Hokitika until 5am tomorrow; headwaters of Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthur's Pass, until 5am tomorrow; headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers until 7am tomorrow; and Southland until 3am tomorrow.

A heavy rain warning for Fiordland was lifted in an update this evening. Further rain is expected tonight and Friday morning but is not expected to approach warning criteria.

A heavy rain watch is in place for Northland from 8pm tonight to 9am tomorrow; Auckland and eastern Waikato from 2am to 12pm tomorrow; Taupō from 4am to 7pm tomorrow; Nelson Lakes, Buller District about and southeast of Reefton, Grey District, and Westland District about and north of Hokitika until 2am tomorrow; and Clutha and Dunedin until 8am tomorrow.

A strong wind watch is in place for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island until 12pm tomorrow; Taranaki south of the mountain, Taihape and the Whanganui Hill Country until 10am tomorrow; Wellington until 6am tomorrow; and Buller District, Nelson/Tasman and Marlborough until 3am tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a severe thunderstorm watch is in place for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, and the Bay of Plenty from 10pm tonight until 2pm tomorrow.