Flooding causes evacuations in Greymouth

Homes were evacuated and roads flooded as torrential rain fell in Greymouth last night.

Greymouth chief fire officer Alan McEnaney said there was torrential rain for close to an hour from about 7pm, and while it eased, it continued to fall until about midnight.

Roads became impassable and at least nine homes had to be evacuated, mainly in the Alexander St area on the eastern side of town.

"Most of the water seemed to be coming down off the hills and bringing all sorts of debris which was blocking drains ... " Mr McEnaney told NZPA.

Several pumps were made available to firefighters, but continued rain meant it was not worth using them last night.

Mr McEnaney said those who were evacuated were temporarily taken to the fire station before being either picked up by relatives or taken to motels.

Floodwater was also believed to have caused some damage to shops.

The weather appeared to have cleared this morning, but a lot of work would need to be done assessing damage and mopping up, Mr McEnaney said.

Flooding on the West Coast also forced the closure of State Highway 6 at Punakaiki, north of Greymouth, and between Haast and Makarora, further down the coast.

Meanwhile, more heavy rain in the lower South Island inland caused river levels to rise, with reports of trampers becoming stranded in the Mt Cook area.

A dozen people from different tramping parties have been holed up in the Mueller Hut since Saturday because of the high water levels, the Timaru Herald reported.

Others were stranded on the Milford Track in what turned out to be an extended Anzac weekend, and over 100 people were evacuated yesterday by helicopter because of heavy rain in Fiordland, the Department of Conservation reported.

- NZPA