No evacuations have been needed during a deluge in Canterbury, but Civil Defence says people should be ready as the region braces for more rain this afternoon.
Canterbury Civil Defence controller Sean McCracken said crews were prepared to send out evacuation notices if the rain intensified.
McCracken advised people not wait for official directions to evacuate, if they felt it was necessary to leave their homes.
Waimakariri District Council said some properties had flooded and the council was responding on a case-by-case basis.
Fire and Emergency is pumping water from properties.
The region has suffered widespread surface flooding overnight, with roads in Ohoka, Rangiora and Cust some of the worst affected.
Ashburton Deputy Mayor Liz McMillan said flooding was causing treacherous conditions on the roads.
"If you don't need to drive anywhere today, please just stay home.
"Be aware that just about every road will have some surface flooding. Some areas will be deeper than they look, so take extra care," McMillan said.
Flood signs are being put out and pumps and sucker trucks are being stationed in various locations across North Canterbury.
Drivers throughout North Canterbury are being warned to stay off the roads, with fears that melting snow could cause further flooding.
Several roads throughout the district are closed, including streets in Oxford and Sefton.
Waimakariri District Council said motorists should not drive through fords, even if they were dry.
Melted snow flowing from the mountains could change conditions without warning, the council said.
Canterbury Regional Council said rivers were already up after heavy rain last night and warned some might flood today as rain continues.
"Our main rivers of focus are the Eyre, Cust, Cam, Ohoka. Flows are increasing towards the design capacity of these rivers and Civil Defence Emergency Management groups are monitoring these areas carefully," the council said.
"The Ashley river is rising but is not expected to reach levels which threaten the flood protection scheme.
"The Okuku river may have localised out of river flooding, likely in the same areas that have seen these effects since 2021."
MetService has issued orange heavy rain warnings for Canterbury and Eastern Marlborough south of Ward from this morning until between 3am and 6am Monday.
The rain eased off this morning, but the heaviest falls are expected between 3pm and midnight tonight, MetService said.
Eastern Marlborough and Canterbury about and north of Cheviot can expect another 70 to 100mm of rain during the warning period. The snow level was expected to rise to about 1000 metres late this morning.
Another 60 to 90 mm of rain is expected to fall in Canterbury south of Cheviot. Snow was expected above 1000 metres in MacKenzie Basin from late this morning.
A heavy rain watch is in place for North Otago from this morning until 3am Monday.
MetService said from Tuesday through to early Thursday, a cold showery west to southwest flow would affect New Zealand.
On Wednesday, southwest gales are possible about coastal parts of the North Island and these could become severe about Northland and Auckland. Later on Thursday and Friday, a ridge of high pressure was likely to spread across the country, according to Met Service.
Several roads are closed in the South Island due to flooding and heavy snow.
State Highway 77 is closed between Thompsons Track and the Pole Road intersection, due to flooding.
State Highway 79 between Gudex Road and Maxwell Road has also been closed, because of floodwaters.
An Ashburton resident described flooding around his neighbourhood as hip height, after relentless rain overnight.
Tinwald resident Bailey Chambers said a nearby creek had caused flooding in his area.
"[The creek is] normally around 20 centimetres-odd deep and it's probably a good metre and a half or two metres to the top of the culvert.
"The neighbours place, it's flooded all through the garage from what I can tell. This happened about six years ago to the day," Chambers said.
Kaiapoi-Woodend Deputy Mayor Neville Atkinson said from what he saw this morning, recent works appeared to have helped prevent more severe flooding.
"We've probably come through it better than we normally have. There's a lot of mitigation been put in recently and it seems to be working well," Atkinson said.
He advised residents to stay away from rivers and streams prone to overflowing.
Anyone who feels their home is at risk of being flooded should call 111 immediately.
Residents needing help to evacuate, or who live on a street where drains have overflowed, should contact their local council.
Sand bags are available from Rangiora New World and the Kaiapoi Football Club.
RNZ
