Surface flooding and slips are causing issues throughout the Canterbury region.
An "orange" heavy rain warning is in place for Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin and surrounding areas - with at least 30mm falling in Christchurch since midnight.
The same weather system caused chaos in Northland on Monday, flooding farms, closing roads and forcing schools to shut.
What you need to know:
- Widespread flooding is being anticipated across the Canterbury region amid torrential rainfall
- Residents from the Mill Rd Hut settlement on the banks of the Ōpihi River, near Timaru, have been told to evacuate
- Snow and flooding has caused the closure of several South Island State Highways
- More than 20 roads are closed across Christchurch due to flooding, while several schools are shut for the day
- Environment Canterbury is urging those who live near rivers to be vigilant
- Ashburton's emergency operations centre is on standby
- Click here for all State Highway closures
- Go here for the list of roads closed in Christchurch.
These live updates have finished.
8:25pm - State Highway 63 Renwick in Marlborough remains closed, Waka Kotahi NZTA said.
"Please consider detouring via Renwick and allow extra time in your journey," they said.
Overnight updates on the status of state highways can be found here.
7:20pm - The Dunedin City Council said Civil Defence is evacuating a small number of north Dunedin residents close to the Leith River.
Here is the full update from the council:
Dunedin Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) is evacuating a small number of North Dunedin residents close to the Water of Leith.
Due to heavy rain, it is likely that the Water of Leith will overtop this evening and affect properties located between Montgomery Avenue and Leith Street (Central).
Dunedin CDEM is working with the Police and FENZ to evacuate residents from about 35 properties as a precautionary measure. Campus Watch staff were earlier door-knocking these properties to warn them to prepare to leave.
We are advising the evacuated residents to stay with friends or family living in higher in areas if they can.
Alternatively, anyone who needs accommodation should go the evacuation centre which has opened at Dunedin North Intermediate, 34 North Road.
We are also keeping a close eye on the Lindsay Creek in North East Valley. As a precaution, we have evacuated several patients from the Otago Community Hospice to Mercy Hospital.
Sandbags are available at The Valley Project, next to North East Valley School, on North Road. Sandbags are also available at Victoria Road car park beside the Dunedin Ice Stadium in South Dunedin, and in Mosgiel at the Memorial Park car park.
5:55pm - The Christchurch City Council said there has been more road closures. They are:
- Dunedin Street, from Grimseys Road to Salford Avenue
- Mottam Street, from Dunedin Street to Daniels Road
- Lower Styx Road, from Spencerville Road to Kainga Road
- Avondale Road, from Breezes Road to Wainoni Road
- New Brighton Road, from Hawke Street to Rawson Street
- Avonside Drive, from Woodham Road to Retreat Road
- River Road, from Banks Avenue to Medway Street
- Edgeware Road, from Hills Road to Geraldine Street.
"Our contracting teams will be checking on the condition of roads overnight and will start reopening roads as soon as possible," they said.
5:25pm - The Dunedin City Council has warned that tenants living in low-lying flats near the Leith River may need to evacuate.
Here's the full update from them:
Students living in a small number of low-lying flats closest to the Water of Leith are being advised to prepare for a possible evacuation.
Campus Watch are this evening door-knocking about 20 affected homes, located between Montgomery Avenue and Leith Street (Central), to warn residents of possible flooding if the stream overtops later tonight.
Students living in the affected homes should consider leaving now if they have somewhere else to stay.
Those who choose to remain must have a bag packed and be ready to move at short notice. Emergency services will evacuate remaining residents, if necessary, later tonight.
An evacuation centre will also be open tonight at the Dunedin North Intermediate, and alternative accommodation options are available.
Some roads and rural fords are closed and motorists should drive to the conditions and check www.dunedin.govt.nz/road-conditions for the latest road closures.
5pm - Here is the latest from the Waitaki District Council:
We have received more inclement weather across the day, and this is forecast to continue overnight. We are preparing for more road closures and flooding.
We continue to monitor river levels with the Kakanui River as our current priority. Other rivers and waterways remain manageable but are rising.
We ask the public to continue to keep away from any waterways as rivers and streams may change. Unless you are a resident, we request people stay away from damaged areas. Your presence might put you at further risk from the residual effects of floods, such as contaminated water, damaged roads, and other hazards.
Several local roads have closed this afternoon due to flooding. Over 20 roads are currently closed and several more are on caution. This will continue to be updated overnight.
Schools have been advised that the roads that are currently closed will not be open in time for the school run tomorrow morning. There will also be further road closures.
For local snow affected roads, we do not carry out snow clearance until 24 hours after the last snowfall and there is no snowfall predicted for 48 hours. Rain and freezing after a snowfall can create ice and further hazards.
Please follow any signage and road cones and do not remove or alter temporary road signage. This can create a hazard for other road users and is also a criminal offence. Do not remove or adjust any signage or cones.
The A2O is currently closed, and the conserve water notice remains in place for the Windsor water supply.
If there are any further reports to make, please contact the Waitaki District Council. Call us on 03 433 0300 or 0800 108 081 or service@waitaki.govt.nz. For any emergencies, please call 111.
4:20pm - While the weather has been wild today, some parts of the country experienced "unsesaonably warm" temperatures - especially across the North Island and down the West Coast this afternoon.
Whanganui reached the top temp today at 21.8C at 2pm, MetService said.
3:40pm - The heaviest of the rain is now clearing Christchurch, MetService said.
"There are still warnings in place for Canterbury south of the Rakaia River but the clearance is slowly edging southwards," they said.
3:27pm - Environment Canterbury says people should expect rivers to continue rising for the rest of Tuesday and into Wednesday.
"We encourage those with property adjacent to rivers that may be affected be high flows and flooding to closely monitor their own situation, and take action as required," the regional council said.
3:05pm - Stuff is reporting residents from the Mill Rd Hut settlement on the banks of the Ōpihi River, near Timaru, have been told to evacuate.
2:27pm - Timaru's emergency operations centre says riverside communities and roads continue to be of concern amid the current weather event.
"The rain is causing significant surface water and localised flooding on many of our roads, which may not be signposted," Timaru District Civil Defence controller Jayson Ellis said.
"While the weather has led to the closure of several roads and all fords in the district, the conditions are causing hazardous driving conditions throughout the district.
"We're particularly advising people in rural areas to avoid travelling unless necessary and return home before dark as conditions will continue to deteriorate overnight."
2:13pm - Flooding has now closed Christchurch's New Brighton Rd between Kingsford St and Lake Terrace Rd.
2:08pm - The Marlborough District Council is urging motorists to take care on the roads despite the weather starting to clear in the region.
"Fords on Jacksons and Hammerichs Rds as well as the Fairhall Overflow and Omaka Ford on Old Renwick Rd will remain closed until the water across these roads subsides," Marlborough roads manager Steve Murrin said.
"Taylor Pass Rd between the ford and Awatere Valley Rd is also closed due to flooding, while surface flooding in Blenheim has meant the speed limit on Grove Rd has been temporarily restricted to 30km/h."
1:50pm - In the North Island, slips and flooding are continuing to impact roads on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Waka Kotahi says State Highway 25 between Coromandel and Te Rerenga and SH25 between Kuaotunu and Wharekaho/Simpsons Beach remain closed.
1:48pm - Parts of Christchurch are experiencing wastewater issues, the city council says.
"This is because stormwater is getting into the wastewater network," the council said in a statement.
"All our wastewater pump stations are working but they are struggling to keep up with the volume of water being flushed through the network.
"This issue should resolve itself once the rain stops and the surface flooding on the roads starts to drain away."
1:10pm - The Christchurch City Council says residents should continue driving to the conditions.
"Given the volume of water around the city it is very important that people drive slowly and take extra care travelling around the city.
"If you can avoid driving through ponded water, please do so. If you can't avoid it, drive slowly so that you don't push stormwater onto people's properties."
12:54pm - Multiple roads in the Christchurch suburb of Wigram have now been closed by flooding, according to the council.
12:50pm - Modelling shows rain is likely to continue hitting Christchurch and Banks Peninsula until at least midnight, the city council says.
"The rain has been heavier than was forecast and there are pockets of flooding across the district," Civil Defence manager Brendan Winder said. "The flooding has been exacerbated because the ground was already so saturated.
"On the whole the stormwater network is holding up well given the volume of rain we have had this month."
12:45pm - More rain is expected on the South Island's East Coast on Tuesday afternoon, MetService says.
"During July there has been over 200mm of rainfall recorded at Christchurch airport, the first time this has been reported there since its records began in 1943," the forecaster said on Tuesday.
"As one area of rain moves away tomorrow another area of low pressure is waiting in the wings to bring more rainfall on Thursday, especially for the North Island."
12:28pm - Burkes Pass (State Highway 8 between Fairlie and Tekapo) is now open after earlier being closed by snow.
12:21pm - More central Christchurch roads are now closed due to flooding:
- Oxford Tce from Worcester St to Gloucester St
- Cambridge Tce from Cashel St to Montreal St.
12:16pm - Civil Defence is urging Otago residents to stay away from rapidly rising rivers and streams.
"Waitaki District and Dunedin City Councils have activated their Emergency Operations Centres," Emergency Management Otago group manager Matt Alley said.
"We continue to monitor the rainfall across the region and watch for any impacts that this may have. The ground is really saturated following the last few weeks of wet weather and we may see slips [and] surface flooding by the end of the day."
12:12pm - The Mt Cook Highway and Lindis Pass (State Highways 80 and 8) have reopened in south Canterbury after earlier being closed by snow.
Burkes Pass (SH8 between Fairlie and Tekapo) remains closed.
12:06pm - While the rain continues to wreak havoc on the South Island, here's MetService's short forecast for what Kiwis can expect over the next day:
Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty
Showers becoming more frequent on Tuesday afternoon, easing on Wednesday.
Waitomo to Taranaki, including the central high country
Periods of rain, possibly heavy at times, easing to showers on Wednesday afternoon.
Gisborne to Wairarapa
Partly cloudy with the odd shower and occasional rain about the Tararua district on Wednesday, clearing and becoming fine on Wednesday evening.
Whanganui to Wellington
Scattered rain or showers, possibly heavy about Whanganui and Manawatu for a time on Wednesday.
Nelson and Marlborough
Occasional rain, possibly heavy, clearing on Wednesday evening.
Canterbury and eastern Otago
Rain with heavy falls easing on Wednesday and clearing about Canterbury on Wednesday evening.
Remainder of Otago, Southland, also Buller, Westland and Fiordland
Mostly cloudy with rain at times.
Chatham Islands
Mostly cloudy with showers, turning to rain for a time on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday.
11:56am - The Christchurch City Council has added more road closures to the list. They are:
- Francis Ave, from Warrington St to 40 Francis Ave
- Emmett St, from Briggs Rd to Shirley Rd
- Carrick St, from Flockton St to Aylesford St
- Harrison St, from Thornton St to Aylesford St.
11:35am - Christchurch's rainfall is breaking long-standing records, with the city registering its wettest July since 1978.
11:24am - Snow is falling in the south Canterbury town of Twizel.
11:10am - The following roads are closed in the Timaru District due to surface water and flooding: Burnham Rd Ford, Chalmers Rd Ford, Vance Rd Ford, Taylor Rd Ford, Seaward Rd Ford, Palmer Rd Ford, Casey Rd Ford, Pareora Rd Ford, Brockley Rd Ford, George Ward Rd Ford and Pudjeck Rd Ford.
10:59am - RNZ is reporting that Hagley Oval's Hadlee Pavilion in Christchurch is beginning to flood.
10:51am - Waka Kotahi has added SH63 in Marlborough to its list of State Highway closures. The highway is closed to Anglesea St, with traffic being diverted through Renwick.
10:44am - The Christchurch City Council has added Gainsborough St to the list of road closures.
10:35am - Multiple South Island State Highways are now closed due to flooding and snow. They are:
- Burkes and Lindis Passes
- Aoraki/Mt Cook Highway
- SH1 to Blenheim and Picton at Seddon
Tresca Forrester, journey manager for the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, said more highway closures were possible througout the day.
"Please slow down and drive to the conditions if there is surface flooding to avoid making waves," she said in a statement. "People should expect roads that are open to be slower than usual with damage from last week's storm creating some slower patches in many places across our network."
10:25am - Canterbury's Hillmorton High School and St Thomas College are among schools closed due to flooding, while Christchurch Girls' High School students are being told to learn from home.
10:20am - Slips are continuing to impact some North Island roads, too.
State Highways 33, 30 and 29 in Bay of Plenty all remain open to one lane only and under stop/go management due to slips.
10:15am - MetService warns there's plenty more unsettled conditions to come once the current weather system moves away.
"During Wednesday morning, a front moves southwards across south Canterbury and Otago, bringing a period of heavy rain," the forecaster said in its severe weather outlook. "There is high confidence of warning amounts of rain for south Canterbury, north Otago and Dunedin."
10:10am - Below are all current road closures in Christchurch:
- Fifield Tce
- Lyttelton St
- Ensign St
- Newport St from Wainoni Rd to Emlyn Pl
- Tenby Pl
- Avonside Dr from Wainoni Rd to Torlesse St
- Thornton St from Flockton St to Aylesford St
- Brenchley Ave from Urunga Ave to Watford St
- Harris Cres from 1 Harris Cres to 23 Harris Cres
- Emmett St from Orcades St to Orion St
- Morley St from Truman Rd to Clyde Rd
- Ernlea Tce
- Clarendon Tce
- Waimea Tce
- Palatine Tce
- Eastern Tce
- Fitzgerald Ave from Kilmore St to Cambridge Tce
- Oxford Tce from Barbadoes St to Willow St
- Cambridge Tce from Barbadoes St to Churchill St
- Avondside Dr from Woodham Rd to Retreat Rd
- River Rd from Banks Ave to Medway St
- Hunter Tce, from Malcolm Ave to Colombo St
