State of emergency continues in part of South Island
Some residents in Spring Creek, north of Blenheim, were told to evacuate their homes by 9am Friday as heavy rain threatens the Marlborough region.
Emergency services are taking a precautionary approach due to the risk posed by cracks in stopbanks protecting the township from the Wairau River.
Mayor Nadine Taylor declared a local state of emergency for part of Marlborough at 5pm on Thursday, to facilitate the precautionary evacuation of Spring Creek and in case of any other flooding issues.
Affected properties include those on Dodson, Hathaway and March streets, and part of Ferry Road.
An Orange Heavy Rain Warning for Marlborough has been in place since 9am Wednesday and runs until 6pm Friday. Up to 150 to 250mm of rain is forecast, with peak rates of 20 to 30mm/h or more expected late Thursday, especially in the ranges.
Marlborough Emergency Management Controller Richard MacNamara said the system could stall and bring further rainfall on Friday.
"With the Wairau River stop bank at Spring Creek in a compromised state, we are taking the precaution of advising residents of Spring Creek township to plan to evacuate their homes from 6am Friday, tomorrow morning," MacNamara said.
"They can leave this evening if they wish but the key time when the river may be running high is from early tomorrow morning."
Residents were asked to stay with family or friends - have a grab bag ready and take pets and prescription medications with them.
He said all of Marlborough's emergency and lifelines agencies and response teams were ready to go.
Further updates will be provided, primarily through Marlborough District Council's Facebook page and the Antenno alerting app.
A $8.7 million programme to repair the stopbanks was agreed with the community last May, which includes $3.6m government funding.
The stopbank experienced lateral spread during the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, which was masked by road seal on Peninsula Road, which runs along the top of the stopbank.
In July 2021, flooding in the Wairau River further weakened it and emphasised the need for an upgrade to provide one in a 100-year flood protection.
The council is working on the final design for the repairs and plan to release it in August.
The groundwork will commence in November, with rock and materials stockpiled near the site, temporary infrastructure built, and other preparations made, with construction to begin in November 2026.
Meanwhile, other areas across the South Island continue to be lashed by severe weather.
The Tasman District Council is expecting rivers across the region to be running at high levels, warning residents to prepare for flooding.
Heavy rain, thunderstorms, gales and possible flooding is forecast for much of the South Island.
The Tasman District council said uncertainty about the forecast and possible thunderstorms meant people should plan for flooding.
Council hydrologists said 75 to 140mm of rain had already fallen in the Tasman ranges in the last 12 hours.
The Tākaka River and its tributaries and the Aorere River had peaked or were about to peak, all below annual flood flows.
High tide coincided with the Aorere River's peak flow, so people could expect road and surface flooding in Ferntown.
Another 200 to 300mm of rain was expected in Golden Bay over the next 26 hours, along with possible thunderstorms and localised flooding.
River's in the region's east including the Wakapuaka, Maitai, Wairoa/Waimea and upper Motueka were also expected to reach annual flood flows.
Between 15 to 45mm of rain had already been recorded across the eastern ranges, with a further 150 to 250mm expected.
The council said there was a good chance the wet weather could cause slips, particularly on State Highway 60 over the Tākaka Hill and State Highway 6 between Nelson and Marlborough.
MetService severe weather warnings cover most parts of the island, with orange rain warnings starting in the early hours of Thursday for the Tasman District northwest of Motueka, Buller, Nelson and Marlborough, excluding the Sounds.
Haast Pass is closed between Haast and Makarora because of a slip.
MetService meterologist Heather Keats said there was "pretty decent rainfall and strong winds come through the South Island overnight as expected".
Canterbury High Country experienced "massive" 250km/h wind gusts.
"But that's a very elevated site that's quite exposed."
Other sites saw 90km/h gusts while some areas also had 10mm to 20mm of rain hourly.
"At the moment everything's playing out as we expected as that really active front does start to track over the South Island."
Environment Canterbury issued a riverbed alert for five alpine rivers in the region after heavy rain overnight.
The regional council said flows were increasing in upper parts of the Rangitata, Rakaia, Waimakariri, Hurunui and Waiau-uha rivers.
The focus would then shift to central New Zealand with strong wind watches in place for Wellington and rain watches for Taranaki from tomorrow.
It would continue north to affect the whole of the North Island, Keats said.
The active rain band affecting the West Coast was expected to stall over the Tasman/Nelson area and then affect Wellington and Taranaki.
Wellington region has been upgraded to orange wind warning.
MetService said Mount Kaukau recorded wind speeds of up to 130km while winds around the Wellington Airport and Kelburn were closer to the hundred mark.
Wellington and Porirua councils said they were unaware of the wind causing any damage - Fire and Emergency were also yet to receive any callouts.
Flights and the Cook Strait ferries are also still running.
With the Wairau River closely watched, an update is expected by Thursday afternoon for Spring Creek residents once the latest forecasts are reviewed.
The weather system had the potential to stall, delivering additional rainfall on Friday, leading to a more significant weather event, the council and Marlborough Emergency Management said in a statement on Wednesday.
An update would be issued by the middle of Thursday afternoon for Spring Creek township residents on the potential impact on the Wairau River, once the latest forecasts had been assessed, the council said.
Heavy rain warnings in place for the headwaters of the Canterbury and Otago lakes and rivers, the ranges of the Westland district and Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound have been lifted.
Intense rain led to flash flooding in Nelson last month, which saw mayor Nick Smith renew his call for a rain radar.
With school holidays looming, Keats said: "Sunday looks amazing" while ski fields would benefit from fresh snowfalls over the next few days.
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