Australia Weather News

Emergency services and council workers are assessing the damage in Christchurch and Dunedin, as the clean-up begins in Timaru and Otago after a severe storm battered New Zealand's South Island.

Two days of wild weather delivered a month's worth of rain and caused widespread flooding and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said the weather system that lashed New Zealand over the past four days had passed, but other storms "were lining up to bring more rain".

States of emergency were declared yesterday in Christchurch, Timaru District, Otago and Dunedin, and the military was called in to assist.

The weather was forecast to clear on Sunday across the country but several states of emergency remain in place.

In Christchurch, the Heathcote River burst its banks and flooded southern parts of the South Island city on Saturday.

Residents awoke on Sunday to a slight reprieve; there were no overnight evacuations of the Southshore or Heathcote River areas and the high tide was much lower than expected.

Another high tide is expected at 4:15pm local time.

The meteorological service said some areas had received more than triple the monthly average rainfall in two days.

The heaviest recorded fall was 266 millimetres, north of Dunedin over a 48-hour period.

In Dunedin, a state of emergency will remain in place, but the City Council said the focus was now on recovery.

"There's still a lot of water lying around, including on roads, there's still lots of slips, most of them have been partly cleared but there's a lot of debris around and, to complicate things, it's freezing now," Mayor Dave Cull said.

Authorities said damage in parts of the wider city was "significant" while about 100 people were waiting to hear if they could return to their homes.

Otago Regional Council spokesman Fraser McRae said their early surveys of the flood levels would help with decisions about access for evacuated households.

"We know that people will want to get back to their properties as quickly as possible. We aim to have initial assessments later this morning — each area has different circumstances," he said.

"For example, on the Taieri it takes floodwater from the Maniototo up to 36 hours to reach Outram. Though the rain stops, the river will still be carrying a lot of water for some time."

Landslips cause problems for emergency services

River levels are dropping across the Otago region but widespread flooding remains and landslips have isolated several parts of the Peninsula.

"There are more than 25 slips on roads around the wider city, many of them on the Otago Peninsula," the Dunedin Civil Defence and Emergency Management said on Facebook.

"Some areas are effectively cut off, such as residents north of Harwood, where no alternative route is accessible."

The Dunedin Civil Defence said despite the emergency services' best efforts, it would take "months" to clear all the landslips.

"People need to be aware there is widespread debris and damage," Civil Defence said.

Low overnight temperatures have also caused black ice to form on roads across the Otago region, hampering early recovery efforts and causing further problems for motorists.

While the weather is forecast to settle on Sunday and Monday, more rain and cold temperatures are predicted from Tuesday.