Christchurch river floods, North hit by rain and snow [audio report]

The Historic Village in Tauranga was one of many places affected by flooding today. Picture / John Borren

Dozens of Christchurch homes were flooded after the Heathcote River burst its banks today.

One house near the river was evacuated, while eight to 12 other homes were borderline this afternoon, said Christchurch City Council spokesman Terry Sefton.

A welfare centre was set up at Cashmere High School and the Salvation Army was supplying meals, though it was expected everyone would be able to return to their homes tonight.

Mr Sefton said late this afternoon that water had now receded "quite a bit" and was continuing to do so.

Many residents had stayed in their homes and were using tarpaulins or other materials to prevent water getting into households and garages. Council contractors had used around 400 sandbags to protect homes.

Flooding and landslips caused by heavy rain in the city had already closed or limited traffic on several roads near the river and on Christchurch's hill suburbs.

Mr Sefton earlier said there were concerns about how high tide due about mid-afternoon would impact areas of the river closer to the sea.

Elsewhere, Wanganui residents were also facing flooding as rain continued to fall in the area.

Civil Defence was warning residents near the Matarawa Stream that it was likely to enter some properties in the Wakefield Street/Ikitara Road area.

In Hackett St, Wanganui East, there was surface flooding and about five properties had been sandbagged. A large number of roads in the area were closed or reduced to a single lane.

Meanwhile, the Desert Road opened at lunchtime, but torrential rain and snow continued to cause chaos in the North Island with floods and slips making many roads impassable.

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Police earlier described conditions as "very bad" and urged motorists to be extremely careful.

One Christchurch resident, Lydia Laulaula of Centauraus Road, described seeing cars parked in driveways with water running through them and houses flooded.

She said people were trying to erect tarpaulin barriers in garages to stop the water getting in.

Wendy Sealey, who lives on Eastern Terrace, said the water had risen 15cm in an hour.

Christchurch City Council spokesman Terry Sefton said part of Eastern Terrace was impassable and some parts of Palentine and Riverlaw terraces were covered in water.

Slips on Christchurch's Port Hills forced the closure of the Summit Road and reduced other streets to one lane, while other surface flooding around the city is making driving hazardous.

The council is watching the situation closely as the high tide is due bring the river to its peak in mid-afternoon.

Central plateau

Police earlier said weather conditions on State Highway 1 through the Central Plateau had caused at least one crash.

Motorists travelling through the central North Island had to use SH49 through Ohakune.

Heavy rain overnight caused flooding and slips in Wanganui, closing State Highway 4 at Parapara and reducing traffic on State Highway 3 to one lane between Westmere and Kaiwi early on Tuesday morning.

Most of the North Island had been hit by the rain, which had arrived sooner than expected and is now predicted to leave later.

The rain was working its way down the island and in Wellington had combined with high winds -- gusts of 95km/h being recorded in suburban Kelburn. Meanwhile, in Kelson four homes were evacuated due to a slip.

Despite the flooding in Christchurch, the South Island had largely escaped the worst of the weather, although the Lindis Pass remained closed today after snow last night.

Mount Hutt skifield was closed due to wind, and Christchurch's Lyttelton Harbour was also feeling the breeze, with a gust of 80km/h recorded at 2am today.

Other road closures included State Highway 4 at Parakino, 25km north-east of Wanganui, due to a fallen tree, SH4 between Wanganui and Raetihi due to a land slip and SH3 between from Piopio to Mahoenui. As well, SH3 south of Wanganui at Marybank is reduced to one lane due to flooding.

SH38 near Lake Waikaremoana is also closed due to a slip.

Constant rain has also caused several slips on the hills around Christchurch.

The Summit Road is closed between Dyers Pass and Mt Pleasant due to a slip at Rapaki and there are several smaller slips on Centaurus, Sumner and Dyers Pass Roads.

- NZHERALD STAFF, NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB