KEY POINTS:
Firefighters in Nelson were out in force this morning pumping out flooded properties after an overnight deluge of rain.
Nelson deputy chief fire officer Tim Bennion said the southern city appeared to be worst-hit, with the Fire Service receiving between 30 and 40 calls since about 7.30am.
"There's lots of surface flooding. People have woken up to find their properties flooded," he said.
The Nelson Fire Brigade and Stoke and Richmond volunteer fire brigades were working through a backlog of callouts to flooded properties.
"When trucks become available, they're just moving on to the next incident," he said.
Mr Bennion said there had been no dangerous incidents reported.
"They've really been assistance calls. We're pumping out surface water going through properties," he said.
The rain was predicted to ease by lunchtime.
MetService Christchurch spokesman Alan McDougall said 97.1mm of rain had been recorded in Nelson city in 24 hours to 9am today.
The heaviest fall in the Nelson region -- 109mm -- was recorded at Takaka Hill, with Takaka township recording 96mm and 75mm falling in Motueka.
Mr McDougall blamed a low-pressure frontal system in the southern Tasman Sea that was bringing a moist northerly air flow onto the Nelson region.
Nelson City Council divisional infrastructure manager Fraser Galloway said Stoke appeared to be hardest hit, with Nayland College, Nayland Primary School and Broadgreen closed today because of the flooding.
The main problems related to flooding through low-lying basements, but there had been a couple of slips on The Ridgeway road at Stoke.
Mr Galloway said the weather was clearing.
"It's mopping up and pumping out that seems to be the order of the day now," he said.
The flooding appeared to have caused no major damage.
- NZPA
