"It's the highest we've ever seen. It's through our neighbour's house, and not far from going through ours."
Cameron Noble, his wife and their 11-month-old son also left their Riwaka home after the water began to rise. Noble fought back tears as he said he'd feared for his son as the water started to rise.
"It had been fine all day and then it started rising through the floor boards.
"It's okay though, the parents are in town and we can go and stay with them," Noble said.
"My wife's okay, my kid is okay, we'll be okay."
Evacuation centres were set up in Motueka and Nelson. Many people in Nelson went to the civil defence centre because they simply had nowhere else to go.
Flights were grounded from midday, campsites evacuated, and some main roads closed including the route to Golden Bay.
Accommodation filled up quickly, leaving some people with no option other than the Salvation Army hall on Rutherford St.
Earlier in the day, locals in Nelson were sandbagging their homes. Many along the waterfront were still damaged from Cyclone Fehi at the beginning of the month.
Rosie Musturs said the storm surge from Cyclone Fehi swamped their house and garden, bringing water in through the garage, flooding up to a metre high.
Their emergency supplies had been stored in a large bin at the side of the house, but the power of the water knocked it over and swept the supplies away. This time they'd put in sandbags, nailed wood over doorways, and had their emergency supplies up high.
"We've put in sandbags with rubber underneath, we've constructed a defence on the side of the house, and then around the back we've just blocked off absolutely everything," Musturs said.