Rising river levels forced dozens of properties to be evacuated in Dunedin's student area with many spending the night away from home.
Thirty-five properties, mainly student flats, were evacuated on Tuesday evening as the Leith River came dangerously close to breaking its banks.
"It looks like it's about a metre away from getting onto our property so it's quite nerve-wracking," student Sophie Wallace told Newshub.
"We'd rather just leave now than go for a swim at 3am," another student said.
The wild weather system had hit Christchurch earlier on Tuesday and made its way down to Otago, where officials in Dunedin weren't willing to take any risks.
"They were evacuated, as you say, as a precautionary measure," Dunedin City Mayor Aaron Hawkins said.
Residents were given the all-clear just before 8am but Hawkins said there was still some risk throughout the city.
"There is still more rain forecast and we're keeping an eye on the Taieri River and the Waikouaiti River… because those rivers are still rising, so we're not out of the woods yet."
Parts of State Highway 1 between Otago and Canterbury remain closed with floodwaters still covering the road in some areas.
While the weather warnings for the South Island were due to end, heavy rain watches were now in force for areas across the North Island including Horowhenua to Wellington and the Bay of Plenty.
MetService said periods of heavy rain were expected in those areas from 7am on Thursday until as late as 11pm.
