Weather live: Heavy rain lashes top of South Island, Auckland
Nelson's Maitai River in June 2025.
Photo:
Samantha Gee / RNZ
Marlborough District m Mayor Nadine Taylor has declared a
localised state of emergency
for parts of the region.
Fire and Emergency is helping residents amid extensive flooding in Richmond and Motueka.
Around 60 households in the township of Spring Creek, north of Blenheim have been advised to evacuate by 9am, ahead of peak river levels expected for the Wairau River about midday.
MetService had weather warnings for much of the North Island for later on Friday too, particularly Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Northland and Auckland.
Fire and Emergency North has attended about 14 weather-related call outs, mainly in the Auckland region - a majority concerned fallen trees across roads and downed powerlines.
High winds
could close the Auckland Harbour bridge
during the Friday morning commute, NZTA warned on Thursday.
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RNZ News
28 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Riwaka couple's house surrounded by water after Tasman, Nelson flooding
The couple said they were prepared for the weather that hit the top of the South Island last week, but the rain came thick and fast. Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ From State Highway 60, Pouesi and Hillary Fitisemanu's Riwaka home was completely surrounded by water this weekend. The couple live next to the Motueka River and Pouesi Fitisemanu said they were prepared for the weather that hit the top of the South Island last week, but the rain came thick and fast. "First thing Friday morning, it was all hands on deck, [there was] more water than I wanted to see, Fitisemanu said. The Tasman District remains under a state of emergency, while officials work to determine the full scale of the damage, which has seen extensive flooding across valleys in Motueka, Tapawera, Tadmor and Wai-iti. The Fitisemanu's land, near the Motueka Bridge, is a park over property for New Zealand Motor Caravan Association members and the couple had five motorhomes staying on Thursday night, who awoke on Friday to find it lapping underneath their vehicles. "We had a couple of hours to move people off safely, and we'd already moved the animals the day before." He had moved his four sheep and two cows to higher ground on Thursday Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ They were able to relocate all but one couple, whose bus had a flat battery and have since been staying with them. "We're sort of landlocked at the moment, vehicle-wise, we've got access up through the neighbours and we can walk out there." He had moved his four sheep and two cows to higher ground on Thursday, but the deluge meant there was no dry ground on their property until floodwaters receded. "There's no grass left for the animals, but we've moved them to as high a ground as possible and they've got feed and bits and we've had lots of people offer to take the animals and look after them while we get things sorted." The couple have lived next to the river for 14 years and this was the fifth flood they had experienced and it was the worst, Fitisemanu said. A few of their vehicles were flood damaged, but their house was unscathed. The couple's Riwaka home surrounded by floodwaters. Photo: Supplied / Pouesi and Hillary Fitisemanu "The house is built up high and I felt quite confident that we weren't going to get water inside it, that is probably one thing I can think the council for, they required us to build a certain level and it's paid off." He had used pallets to make a raft for his sheep to stand on so they were not in the water, and when the water levels dropped, would relocate them elsewhere to graze, as there would be a lack of feed. "We've got plenty of water and milk and supplies in the cupboard and [this is a] two-storey place, so we had a safety zone to go to if we needed to," he said. The scale of the clean up would not be known until the water subsided, but their paddocks would be covered in silt, with fences washed out and there would be a bit of a clean up to do, Fitisemanu said. "There's nothing you can do about it. It's just something you've got to deal with and keep a positive attitude." A few of their vehicles were flood damaged, but their house was unscathed. Photo: Supplied / Pouesi and Hillary Fitisemanu Nelson Tasman Civil Defence group controller Alec Louverdis said on Sunday that teams were working to assess houses in the worst affected areas and there were two yellow stickered properties, one in Nelson and one in Tasman. Assessments had been completed in Tapawera, Riwaka, the Motueka Valley and Brightwater, with assessments still to take place in Moutere, North Wakefield and Ngatimoti. "We're still anticipating that there will be some either yellow or red stickers." State Highway 6 remained closed between Kohatu and Kawatiri and Louverdis said there were 47 local road closures. Tasman Deputy Mayor Stuart Bryant said the rural community had been extensively affected by the flooding, with many in Motupiko and the Upper Motueka Valley dealing with a repeat of the floods in 2021/2022. "There will be a lot of heartache as they repair fences and flood damage." Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced that the Mayoral Relief Fund had been opened, with $100,000 in it to start, to help residents to access funds to deal with issues in the immediate term. Mitchell said the council had been proactive in declaring a state of emergency, early. "That is absolutely the right thing to do, we are a country that is going to continue to face weather events. What's happening with these weather events is that they can be more severe and they can change suddenly ... we'll continue to work together to identify what we need to do in the medium to long term with the recovery." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tasman, Nelson to prepare for more heavy rain following flooding
Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell and Tasman Deputy Mayor Stuart Bryant speak to reporters after a helicopter survey of the flooding. Photo: Tasman District Council / Facebook The storm-battered Tasman and Nelson area is now having to prepare for more heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. It comes as the area is cleaning up after heavy rain on Friday and Saturday. RNZ journalist Samantha Gee was part of a group - including Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell - which surveyed the damage by helicopter. The worst affected area appeared to be the township of Kohatu, beside the Motueka River, and across to Quinney's Bush, she said. The flooding has left one person dead , and caused damage across the Motukea Valley, stock losses and road closures. Following the helicopter survey on Sunday afternoon, Civil Defence controller for the area Alec Louverdis told reporters staff were being prepared for another bout of rain. "Unfortunately it is not just the response but we are looking ahead to Thursday and Friday with the news that we can expect some very high rainfall. "It is the last thing we wanted to hear but something we are preparing for." Parts of the area are experiencing problems with cellular coverage. Photo: Samantha Gee / RNZ The locality of Kohatu, beside the Motueka River, near Quinney's Bush, remained one of the worst hit areas. State Highway 6 through the area was closed. Two other roads had re-opened - State highway 63 in Marlborough and the Wakefield Street to St Arnaud route, Louverdis said. Parts of the area, though, were experiencing problems with cellular coverage, especially Wakefield, Street Arnaud and Richmond, after slips took out parts of the fibre optic cable. Chorus today said it had managed to restore some connections around St Arnaud, but Louverdis said other parts of the connection had been badly hit and Civil Defence was trying to get Starlink connections for some people affected. Tasman's deputy mayor Stuart Bryant - who was also present in the helicopter on Sunday - told reporters damage to the Motueka Valley was more extensive than could be seen from the ground. "Most of the damage progressively gets worse as you go up the Motueka Valley until you get the Wangapeka confluence, [there's a] severely damaged hop farm and sheep and beef farm there with lots of damaged fence, lots of gravel across the paddocks," Bryant said. During this afternoon's press conference, Mitchell said a rain radar for the top of the South Island was a priority. Nelson's closest rain radar is in Wellington and the next is further south in Westland, limiting the region's access to accurate weather data. Mitchell said he would look at rectifying that. Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii "Definitely we're talking about a rain radar, I'm very motivated to try and progress that as quickly as we can because it's obvious that it can provide more early warning for the decision makers," he said. "The other thing we're doing is we're bringing NIWA and MetService together and quite simply the reason we're doing that is so we can provide much better data and a much better product out to the regions, the CDEM teams and the mayors." Damage assessments are continuing across the region Anyone with any worries or issues should contact the Civil Defence community hub set up in the Motueka Rec Centre. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Man killed by falling tree remembered as a 'big character' in rural community
Peter Lines was hit by a tree while clearing flood damage. Photo: Supplied The man killed by a falling tree during floods across the South Island was a fifth generation hop farmer and "big character" in both the industry and his region. Peter Lines was hit by a tree while clearing flood damage in Wai-iti, south-east of Wakefield Saturday morning. He died at the scene and the incident has been referred to the coroner. Tasman mayor Tim King told RNZ the death had shocked the community. "He was a big character, part of a multi-generational farming family and a significant part of the community." Lines' family had been growing hops for some 170 years and he was proud to be the fifth generation hop grower. In a video he made for the NZ Hops website, he described how he enjoyed the work and loved the growth of new beers in New Zealand, so much that he branched into brewing. "We have been growing hops for a long time, then we had the craft beer revolution so a couple of us set up a small brewery." Emergency minister Mark Mitchell said this afternoon he wanted to acknowledge the region had lost a highly respected member of the community. "That will be reverberating through the community." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
