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The adverse weather has caused significant disruption to the country's rail services.
The Main North Line between Christchurch and Picton is closed while the Main South Line between Christchurch and Invercargill is likely to close soon.
ONTRACK has logged 14 separate problems on the Main North Line in the 45 km stretch between Kaikoura and Kekerengu. Problems range from slips and washouts to blocked culverts and rocks on the line.
Further south in North Otago and South Canterbury, heavy rain has caused flooding between Glenavy and Studholm and at Herbert. The Main South Line is expected to close this evening.
In the North Island, the only line still affected by weather issues is the Palmerston North-Gisborne Line which is expected to re-open this evening.
A number of roads around the Canterbury region remain closed while there is extreme caution recommended on others. State Highway One between Rakaia and Ashburton is now open.
Transit has advised State Highway One between Blenheim and Kaikoura is now open - the section between Waipara and Kaikoura however is still closed.
The Automobile Association is warning there is surface flooding in South Canterbury across all state highways - extreme care is recommended and roads around Christchurch including Ainsley, Clarendon and Richardson have complete surface flooding
State Highway One at Deborah south of Oamaru is closed.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS TODAY
Canterbury coastal town evacuated
Residents at Amberley Beach, about 50km north of Christchurch, are being evacuated ahead of a high tide which is expected to flood the settlement shortly after 4pm.
Deputy chief fire officer Anthony Parish said fire and police are at the scene and buses have been organised for people who do not have transport.
He said up to 500 people could be effected.
Two welfare centres have been set up for people who require them at Leithfield School and Amberley Domain.
"I'm not sure about Leithfield Beach, it doesn't seem like they're evacuating that at the moment but they're keeping a close eye on it," Mr Parish said.
He said 90 per cent of the people are leaving happily but some "old diggers just want to be home".
Ship bombarded by heavy seas
Some 40 people have received medical treatment after their cruise ship rolled sharply in heavy seas caused by the storm sweeping New Zealand.
P&O cruises said the ship Pacific Sun was experiencing 7 metre swells and 50 knot winds when it rolled 600km north of Auckland just before 8pm.
A spokesperson said onboard medical staff treated about 40 passengers as a result of the sudden movement.
The ship was due in Auckland this morning but the bad weather has delayed its arrival by 24 hours.
The storm, which has left a trail of destruction along the country shifted its focus to Canterbury today, leaving many communities farther north to clear up.
A state of emergency remained in place in Marlborough this morning, while emergency operations centres were opened around the Canterbury region.
Flooding and slips have closed a number of roads and disrupted the rail network and rivers have reached dangerously high levels.
MetService warned heavy rain falls were continuing on the Kaikoura Coast and in Canterbury and the prolonged period of rain would continue to raise river levels and surface flooding was possible.
It said rain was expected to ease north of the Waimakariri River this afternoon but would remain heavy farther south, easing overnight.
MetService said rain and winds were easing in the North Island where heavy seas, strong winds and slips caused by heavy rain wrecked houses and damaged infrastructure yesterday.
Missing man
Northland rescue were today hoping the improved weather would help them find the husband of a woman whose body was found yesterday in a storm-swollen river.
Police this morning named her as Lavona Cherrington, aged 49 years, from Kawakawa. They said the initial post mortem showed that she died from drowning.
Police believe the couple were swept away when they were trying to cross a ford to get to their house at Waikare, 20km south of Russell.
Ms Cherrington's body was found 1.5km downstream about 11am yesterday but the body of the 41-year-old man has yet to be found.
Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said about 13 staff headed out this morning for land-based searches to find the man.
"The river levels have dropped and the weather has improved," Ms Kennett said.
"We believe there may be more bad weather coming in a few days so we are trying to take advantage of this break in the weather."
Searchers would spend much of their time focusing on tributaries going off the river, Ms Kennett said.
She said the case was still being treated as a missing persons case but police had concerns for the man's safety.
Kaikoura Coast
Police this morning issued warnings to residents and motorists on the east coast between Picton and Christchurch.
Flooding has forced the closure of State Highway 1 between Blenheim and Kaikoura, and emergency services were warning of flooding dangers in many parts of Canterbury and Marlborough, including Christchurch city.
The main road of Kaikoura had sea weed on it this morning after the high tide washed across the road way.
Kaikoura District Council emergency management officer Mike Kennedy said the region "got off quite lightly" although the main road at each end of the town was closed, roads had been scoured out and two culverts were washed out.
Mr Kennedy said no one was evacuated despite the slips and localised flooding.
"It's starting to fine up now and the weather is improving. All the surface water will drain off reasonably quickly," Mr Kennedy said.
He said farmers had told him they had 190mls and 140mls by 9.30 last night. He said they would have got another 80mls overnight.
Mr Kennedy said some cars were stranded along the highway after their motors were flooded but they have now been "sorted out".
He said fire, police, the mayor and contractors met just after mid-night to discuss whether or not to declare an emergency but decided it was not necessary.
"There's been no damage to our sewage or water supply and all our bridges are intact," Mr Kennedy said.
Click here for Transit's list of road closures in the South Island
Marlborough emergency
A Civil Defence emergency was declared in the Marlborough District Council region with dozens of people evacuated from homes and a camping ground in Picton because of flooding.
Mark Ivamy from the Picton volunteer fire brigade said the rain had eased overnight and the town was in clean-up mode today after a long and exhausting night.
Volunteers were catching up on sleep before heading out to clear up the mess left by the storm.
"We'll start with businesses first and them work around private houses," he said.
Mr Ivamy said locals, police and ambulance staff had all pitched in during the night and continued support was keeping the community spirit up.
He said the easing of the rain during high tides had lessened the impact of flooding.
"If it had kept going we would have really been in dire straits."
Interislander ferry sailings were on schedule today, but the operators said passengers heading south from Picton needed to check road conditions.
In Nelson, a major water pipeline was damaged by falling trees and authorities asked residents to minimise water use as a result.
Nelson City Council said there were outages in higher parts of the city and a restricted supply to others
Infrastructure divisional manager Fraser Galloway said about 300 trees had been felled by winds on council land alone - some of which were significant heritage trees.
Canterbury flooding
MetService said from 8am today until midnight, between 80 and 100mm was expected to fall in the Canterbury foothills, with 40 to 60mm expected about the plains.
Environment Canterbury said Leithfield Beach, Amberley and Amberley Beach were among those affected by flooding.
The Amberley volunteer fire fighters have been going flat out since 2am with steady heavy rain through-out the night.
Deputy chief fire officer Anthony Parish said up to 20 people had been evacuated in the area after houses were flooded.
He said other houses have had water right up to their front doors.
"It's been a busy day, put it that way," Mr Parish said.
He said fire fighters in Rangiora and Woodend have also been busy.
Meanwhile the residents of Leithfield Beach have an anxious wait as high tide is expected at 2pm.
Mr Parish said the area is already flooded and could be evacuated dependent on the water level.
Councils were also closely monitoring the Selwyn, Heathcote and Avon rivers, which had dangerously high water levels.
One house suffered severe flooding in the small Canterbury town of Sefton after 12 people were evacuated and spent last night in the local school hall.
Waimakariri District Council spokeswoman Monese Ball said the residents of the house were staying with relatives and other evacuees returned to their homes this morning.
She said the reticulated water supply in the area was safe to drink but those on well supplies should boil their water first.
Rail
The weather has also disrupted rail, with network manager Ontrack reporting a closure on the main line between Picton and Christchurch.
Ontrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said flooding, slips and debris had affected the track in areas north of Kaikoura, near Sefton and between Picton and Blenheim.
The damage was disrupting passenger and freight services.
A slip in the Buller Gorge had also closed the Stillwater-Westport line.
Slip threatens North Shore homes
Click here for Transit's list of road closures in the North Island
In Auckland, 14 households have an anxious wait for test results from engineers after a slip badly damaged one home and threatened 13 others in the North Shore suburb of Torbay.
North Shore City Council's civil defence and emergency manager David Keay said engineers were trying to stabilise the slip this morning.
"They're going to drive a series of pipes into the face of it in an endeavour to get the water that's obviously there out of it, and in so doing, hopefully stabilise the forward movement," Mr Keay said.
He said the test results could be back today but it could also be several days.
Mr Keay said the council had offered accommodation and transport to those affected and encouraged them to contact their insurance companies.
Power restored
In Horowhenua, Levin has had its supply fully restored after being in the dark for most of yesterday but Waikawa Beach, Manakau, Tokomaru and parts of Foxton are still without power causing havoc for dairy farmers trying to milk.
Electra said they were working as fast as they could and were "hoping" to have all power restored today.
State Highway Two at the Rimutaka Summit this morning had a lane blocked after two slips.
- NZPA, NZHERALD STAFF
