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Hey everyone, please stay safe out there! The weather is absolutely wild right now across the country, and we want to make sure you are all up to speed on what is happening.
Things are particularly tough in Kaikōura right now, where a local state of emergency has been officially declared. The area has been hammered with almost 200 millimeters of rain in just 24 hours, and the flooding is so severe that 150 households have had to evacuate their homes. The red weather warning for Northern Canterbury and Marlborough is still very much active and has been extended until 6:00 AM.
If you are planning to travel through the South Island, you might need to seriously rethink your route. State Highway 1 in North Canterbury is completely shut down due to the floodwaters and is expected to stay closed overnight. The detour between Cheviot and Kaikōura is adding a massive six hours to the trip, so please avoid driving if you can. It is incredibly dangerous out there—emergency crews even had to rescue someone this morning who was trapped in their flooded car near Mt Lyford for four grueling hours. With ongoing power cuts and road closures, the Kaikōura District Council is also urgently asking everyone to conserve water.
Further south, Otago is dealing with a brutal mix of flash flooding and heavy snow, forcing several road closures. To make matters worse, hundreds of homes around Dunedin and Ōamaru are currently sitting in the dark without power, and MetService has just added new heavy rain watches for the Coastal Otago area.
The North Island isn’t escaping this system, either. South Wairarapa locals are being strongly urged to hunker down, stay home, and avoid all travel as the region braces for a relentless 44-hour deluge. Heavy rain watches are actively covering Wellington, the Wairarapa, Horowhenua, Manawatu, Taihape, and stretches of the Tararua District and Hawke’s Bay right through until Wednesday midnight.
Please check on your friends and neighbors, avoid any unnecessary travel, and keep a close eye on the latest MetService updates. Let us know how things are looking in your neck of the woods in the comments. Stay warm and stay safe, everyone!